THE  SATAKAS 

OF  BHARTRIHARI 

WITH  AN  INTRODUCTION  BY  J.  M.  KENNEDY 


MAR  M 1920  J 


Divisiott  V V\  3'  I : i ! 

Section  .B  2.153 


THE  SATAKAS 


OR 


WISE  SAYING: 


N- 


Fi'i'N 


/ 


OF 


MAR  IS 

BHARTRIHARI  A 


TRANSLATED  FROM  THE  SANSKRIT 


With  Notes,  and  an  Introductory  Preface  on 
Indian  Philosophy 


By 

J.  M.  KENNEDY 

AUTHOR  OF 

‘‘THE  RELIGIONS  AND  PHILOSOPHIES  OF  THE  EAST,”  ETC. 


JOHN  W.  LUCE  & COMPANY, 

INCORPORATED 

143,  FEDERAL  STREET 
BOSTON 


CONTENTS 

Chat. 

INTRODUCTORY  PREFACE  ON  INDIAN 
PHILOSOPHY 

I.  THE  NITI  SATAKA  ...... 

II.  THE  VAIRAGYA  SATAKA  - . . . 

III.  THE  SRINGA  SATAKA  , . . . 


1 

55 

9i 

138 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016 


https://archive.org/details/satakasorwisesayOObhar 


THE  - 

SATAKAS  OF  BHARTRIHARI 


INTRODUCTORY  PREFACE 
ON  INDIAN  PHILOSOPHY 

This  new  series  of  translations  from 
Oriental  works  begins  with  the  Satakas  of 
Bhartrihari,  and  the  object  of  this  Intro- 
duction is  not  so  much  to  set  forth  the  very 
little  we  know  about  him  and  his  place  in 
Indian  philosophic  literature  as  to  give  the 
English  reader  some  conception,  however 
imperfect  it  must  necessarily  be,  of  what 
Indian  philosophy  actually  is.  It  is  true 
that  Professor  Max  Muller — probably,  in 
England  at  any  rate,  the  best-known  writer 
on  Oriental  philosophy  and  literature — has 
classified  for  us  the  six  main  systems  of 
Indian  philosophy ; but  his  volume,  which 
is  one  of  the  very  few  thoroughly  trustworthy 

I A 


2 


THE  SATAKAS 


guides  in  English,  is  so  ill-constructed  and 
over-laden  with  detail  that  the  average  reader 
will  obtain  from  it  but  a very  cloudy  notion 
of  the  type  of  thought  to  be  included  in  the 
term  “ Indian  Philosophy.” 

It  seems  to  me,  indeed,  that  properly  cut 
and  dried  classifications  are  in  this  case 
very  nearly  useless  to  Europeans.  When 
we  speak  of  philosophy  in  Europe,  however 
vaguely  wre  may  use  the  expression,  we 
mean  something  which  is  not  necessarily 
connected  with  any  religion,  and  something 
indeed  which  may  be  entirely  independent 
of  religion,  or  even  anti-religious.  In  India, 
however,  the  religion  and  the  philosophy  of 
the  people  are  commingled  to  such  a degree 
that  it  is  very  difficult  and  decidedly 
inadvisable  to  consider  them  separately. 
Furthermore,  the  Indian  is  much  more 
logical  than  the  European  in  that  the 
theories  he  holds  are  his  practical  ideals  of 
life.  Very  few  Europeans,  for  example, 
have  ever  tried  to  put  into  practice  the 
essential  principles  of  the  Christian  religion 
which  most  of  them  profess  to  hold.  The 
Indian,  on  the  other  hand,  is  not  merely 
familiar  with  the  chief  tenets  of  his  faith, 


INDIAN  PHILOSOPHY 


3 


but  be  endeavours  according  to  his  lights  to 
carry  them  out  in  his  daily  life.  Again,  the 
organisation  of  the  entire  Indian  social  order 
is  based  on  philosophical  and  religious  prin- 
ciples, those  principles  which  are  expressed 
perhaps  with  the  greatest  clearness  in  the 
collection  of  writings  known  to  us  as  the 
Laws  of  Manu.  But  in  modern  Europe  our 
sociological  and  economic  order  has  not 
necessarily  anything  to  do  with  religion  at 
all,  and,  in  fact,  in  country  after  country 
we  have  witnessed  the  separation  of  Church 
and  State;  as  if  the  two  things,  far  from 
being  bound  up  one  with  another,  were 
reciprocally  hostile.  Political  philosophers, 
such  as  Hobbes,  Locke,  Bentham,  Rousseau 
and  Bluntschli,  when  dealing  with  the 
theoretical  or  practical  organisation  of  the 
State,  either  despise  religion,  or  neglect  it,  or 
treat  it  merely  as  an  incidental  factor,  of 
subsidiary  importance  to  the  State  itself. 
We  Europeans  do  not  think  it  a matter  for 
astonishment  if  we  find  economics  based  on 
one  “ philosophy,”  such  as  the  Liberal 
philosophy  of  Bentham,  or  the  collectivist 
philosophy  of  Henry  George,  or  the  Con- 
servative philosophy  of,  say,  Edmund 


4 


THE  SATAKAS 


Burke;  or  again,  if  we  are  confronted  with  a 
different  type  of  philosophy  independent  of 
religion,  such  as  that  of  Schopenhauer  or 
Kant.  We  are  not  surprised  when  we  find 
political  economists  like  Adam  Smith  and 
Ricardo  dealing  soullessly  with  problems  of 
taxation,  and  no  doubt  we  should  question 
their  sanity,  or  at  any  rate  their  wisdom,  if 
we  found  them  suggesting  that  there  was 
any  necessary  connection  between  property, 
religion,  taxation,  and  the  social  status  of 
the  different  classes  of  society. 

In  India,  however,  it  may  be  laid  down  as 
a general  axiom  that  all  these  things  are 
intermingled.  Certain  principles  of  Western 
philosophies  and  certain  features  of  Western 
civilisation  have  no  doubt  penetrated  into 
India,  as  the  visitor  would  readily  perceive 
from  the  slums  and  low  women  of  large  coast 
towns  like  Bombay  and  Calcutta,  as  well  as 
the  hideous  factories  which  are  springing  up 
all  too  rapidly.  But,  as  any  friend  of  India, 
of  culture,  and  of  faith,  will  be  glad  to 
think,  these  phenomena  of  the  Western 
world  are  still  confined,  with  one  or  two 
exceptions,  to  the  coast  line,  and  the  journey 
into  the  interior  of  the  Continent  will  enable 


INDIAN  PHILOSOPHY 


5 


any  interested  visitor  to  perceive  for  himself 
that  the  characteristics  which  distinguished 
Indian  philosophy,  Indian  religion,  and 
the  Indian  social  order  thousands  of  years 
ago  still  exist  with  scarcely  any  noteworthy 
variation. 

The  distinctions  between  the  Indian  and 
the  European  are  naturally  very  many,  and 
it  will  be  sufficient  here  to  refer  to  a number 
of  the  more  important.  What  is  bound  to 
strike  the  European  visitor  above  all  is  the 
caste  system,  the  vigour  and  efficacy  of 
which  have  in  no  wise  diminished.  The 
caste  system  in  India  withstood  the  terrific 
spiritual  onslaught  of  Buddhism,  the  com- 
bined spiritual  and  physical  onslaught  of 
the  Moslems,  and  the  English  occupation. 
An  interval  of  hundreds  of  years  separated 
each  of  these  strong  attacks,  and  yet  the 
caste  system  to-day  is  as  powerful  in  theory 
and  even  in  practice  as  we  can  imagine  it  to 
have  been  six  thousand  or  seven  thousand 
years  ago.  A system  which  has  endured 
so  long,  a system  which  is  so  old  and 
yet  always  youthful,  must  surely  be  of 
unique  interest.  It  is  entirely  contrary  to 
the  spirit  of  Western  Europe.  Christianity, 


6 


THE  SATAKAS 


which  in  politics  is  represented  by  the 
democratic  principle,  has  decreed  that  we 
are  all  equal.  Vague  meanings  have  no 
doubt  been  attached  to  this  word  equality, 
and  its  signification  differs  according  as  we 
find  it  in  the  works  of  Rousseau  or  in  a 
Papal  Encyclical.  The  fact  nevertheless 
remains  that  neither  Christianity  nor 
Democracy  can  recognise  class  distinctions ; 
and,  where  class  distinctions  do  exist, 
democrats  never  cease  to  preach  against 
them.  We  have  lived  under  this  religion  or 
philosophy — call  it  what  you  will — for  close 
on  two  thousand  years,  and  if  the  time  has 
not  yet  arrived  it  is  certainly  approaching 
very  rapidly  when  all  class  distinctions,  in 
theory  at  any  rate,  will  cease  to  be  recog- 
nised. It  is  still  remarkable,  as  I am  ready 
to  admit,  to  find  how  many  classes  have 
remained  unaffected  by  this  theory  of 
equality  which  has  been  propagated  for  so 
long.  In  Russia  and  Poland,  and — though 
to  a much  less  extent — in  Germany,  Italy, 
France,  and  Spain,  there  are  still  very 
perceptible  distinctions  between  the  various 
classes  of  society.  These  distinctions, 
however,  are  not  recognised  by  the  religious 


INDIAN  PHILOSOPHY 


7 


philosophy  preached  in  Europe,  and 
assuming  even  the  maintenance,  if  not 
necessarily  the  increase  of  the  authority  of 
this  religious  philosophy,  such  distinctions 
are  in  time  bound  to  disappear. 

Now,  in  India  there  are  not  merely 
distinctions  between  the  various  classes  in 
the  social  order,  but  these  distinctions  are 
definitely  fixed  in  the  religion,  the  philos- 
ophy, and  the  law  codes  of  the  people.  Equal 
rights  and  privileges  for  all  do  not  merely 
not  exist  : they  are  unheard  of,  and  would 
with  difficulty  be  understood  by  the  people. 
We  shall  better  understand  how  this  system 
works  when  we  come  to  know  the  four  great 
castes  into  which  Indian  society  has  been 
divided  for  untold  ages.  First  of  all  comes 
the  priestly  caste,  the  Brahmins.  Although 
we  refer  to  the  Brahmins  as  the  priestly 
caste,  we  must  here  make  the  word 
priestly  ’ ’ include  not  merely  priests  as 
the  word  is  used  in  Europe,  but  philosophers, 
learned  men,  and  ascetics.  Second  in  order 
comes  the  Kshattriya  caste,  the  Kshattriyas 
of  old  including  those  now  better  known 
perhaps  as  the  Rajputs,  i.e.  the  kings, 
administrators,  statesmen,  warriors,  and 


8 THE  SATAKAS 

fighting  men  generally.  It  must  be 
recollected  that  the  kings  and  statesmen, 
however  powerful  they  might  be,  could  not 
and  cannot  exercise  complete  and  entire 
authority  in  India.  They  have  always  been 
subject  to  the  spiritual  authority  of  the  caste 
above  them.  Thirdly  come  the  Vaishyas, 
this  caste  including  all  merchants,  business 
men,  bankers,  shopkeepers,  farmers,  and  so 
forth.  Lastly  we  have  the  Sudra  caste,  and 
this  is  a caste  which  it  is  difficult  to  define 
exactly.  We  cannot  call  them  the  working 
classes,  because  there  are  no  people  in  India 
corresponding  exactly  to  those  indicated  by 
the  Western  use  of  the  term.  To  describe 
the  Sudras  as  casual  labourers  would  be  to 
convey  but  an  approximate  idea  of  a small 
section  of  the  caste.  It  is  perhaps  best  to 
say  that  the  Sudras  are  composed  of  the 
lowest  classes  in  Indian  society,  but  they  are 
nevertheless  a caste  by  themselves,  and  as 
such  have  certain  privileges,  however  few 
and  unimportant,  of  which  they  cannot  be 
deprived. 

Each  caste  is  naturally  still  further  sub- 
divided, and  there  are  distinctions  more  or 
less  minute,  with  which  it  is  hardly  necessary 


INDIAN  PHILOSOPHY 


9 


to  trouble  the  European  reader.  But  it 
should  be  added  that  the  variety  of  Indian 
society,  like  the  variety  of  Indian  scenery, 
climate  and  soil,  is  inexhaustible.  There 
is  a passage  in  Mr  Meredith  Townsend’s 
book  “ Asia  and  Europe  ” which  well  sums 
up  this  variety  : — 

Indian  society  is  not  a democracy.  Amidst  all 
the  peasants  and  officials  stand  hundreds,  or  rather 
thousands,  of  families  as  distinct  from  the  masses 
as  the  Percys  from  English  labourers,  three 
hundred  of  them  ruling  States  large  or  small — 
one  is  bigger  than  the  British  Isles;  one  only  two 
miles  square— three  thousand  of  them  perhaps  who 
on  the  Continent  would  be  accounted  nobles, 
some  with  pedigrees  like  those  of  the  Massimi 
or  the  Zichy’s,  some  only  of  yesterday;  but  all  as 
utterly  separated  from  the  people  as  a hill  from 
the  river  at  its  base.  And  behind  them  stand 
other  thousands  of  squires,  each  with  his  own 
family  traditions,  each  with  hereditary  tenantry, 
each  with  some  position  and  character  and 
speciality  which,  within  fifty  miles  of  his  home, 
are  as  well  known  as  those  of  the  Egertons  in 
Cheshire,  or  the  Luttrells  in  West  Somerset. 
And  behind  them  again  are  millions — literally 
millions — of  families,  country  and  urban,  with 
modest  means,  and  little  wish  for  advancement, 
yet  freeholders  to  a man,  with  histories  often 
which  trace  back  further  than  those  of  the  Lords, 
with  a pride  of  their  own  which  is  immovable. 


id  (THE1  SATAKAS 

and  with  characters  that  for  five  miles  are  known 
and  reckoned  on,  and,  so  to  speak,  expected,  as 
regularly  and  as  accurately  as  if  they  were 
Hohenzollerns  in  Brandenburg.  Ask  the  settle- 
ment officers — who  alone  among  Indian  officials, 
except  sometimes  the  highest,  really  know  the 
people — and  they  will  tell  you  that,  above  the  very 
lowest,  no  two  Indian  families  are  alike  in  rank 
or  character  or  reputation,  or  even,  though  that 
seems  so  impossible,  in  means. 

These  features  represent  a trait  of 
character  which  has  been  called,  more 
particularly  since  Nietzsche’s  time,  aristo- 
cratic. When  we  use  the  words  democratic 
and  aristocratic  in  this  respect,  however,  we 
must  take  care  to  distinguish  between  their 
philosophical  and  their  political  signification. 
When  we  speak  of  an  aristocratic  society  in 
this  connection,  we  now  generally  mean  by 
the  expression  what  Nietzsche  himself  meant 
by  it — a society  that  believes  in  a long  scale 
of  gradations  of  rank  and  differences  of  worth 
amongst  human  beings  and  a society 
likewise  which  is  based  on  some  form  of 
slavey.  A democratic  society  is  of  course 
the  opposite  of  this,  a society  that  does  not 
believe  in  gradations  of  rank  and  seeks  to 
level  all  classes.  The  types  of  mind 


INDIAN  PHILOSOPHY 


ii 


produced  in  each  form  of  society  naturally 
vary  : the  aristocratic  thinker,  as  Nietzsche 
expresses  it,  will  be  constantly  looking  down 
on  the  lower  class  as  his  subordinates  and 
instruments,  whom  he  will  command  in 
accordance  with  his  wishes  and  keep  at  a 
respectful  distance  from  him,  and  this  in  its 
turn  will  give  rise  to  the  longing  for  a 
continually  new  widening  of  distance  within 
the  soul  itself  and  ‘ ‘ the  formation  of  ever 
higher,  rarer,  further,  more  extended,  more 
comprehensive  states,”  i.e.  the  “ self- 
surmounting  of  man.”  The  aristocratic 
sage,  thus  thrown  as  it  were  on  his  own 
philosophical  resources,  is  bound  to  develop 
his  individuality,  his  own  peculiar  form  of 
expression,  or,  to  sum  it  up  in  one  word, 
his  individuum,  to  a much  greater  extent 
than  the  democratic  thinker  can  do.  For 
refined  egotism  is  not  permitted  to  the  latter, 
who  must  necessarily  be  altruistic  and  keep 
his  fellow-creatures  in  mind  as  well  as  his 
own  development. 

When  this  philosophical  distinction  be- 
tween two  words  which  are  now  more  often 
employed  in  a political  than  in  a philosophical 
signification  is  thoroughly  grasped,  it  will 


12 


THE  SATAKAS 


be  seen  what  an  enormous  influence  on  the 
development  of  thought  was  exercised  by  the 
primitive  Indian  organisation  of  society.  It 
is  easy  for  us  at  the  present  day,  with  the 
works  of  a long  line  of  philosophers  from  the 
early  Indians  to  Aristotle,  and  from 
Aristotle  down  to  Kant  and  Bergson,  at 
our  command,  to  talk  glibly  about  the 
differences  between  aristocratic  and  demo- 
cratic philosophy  and  the  numerous  sub- 
divisions in  each.  We  have  within  reach  the 
works  of  both  types  of  men,  and  there  is 
always  the  possibility  of  our  being  convinced 
by  one  or  the  other,  and  having  our  opinions 
and  ideas  influenced  accordingly.  But  it 
was  a different  matter  in  the  case  of  the  men 
whose  works  it  is  hoped  to  publish  from  time 
to  time  in  this  series.  We  may  not  know  the 
names  of  the  writers  of  the  Vedas  and  the 
Upanishads,  but  we  do  nevertheless  possess 
these  works,  which  stand  at  the  head  of  the 
long  line  of  Indian  philosophical  writings. 
These  works,  with  innumerable  others,  were 
handed  down  in  what  Max  Muller  has 
happily  called  mnemonic  literature ; for  in 
ancient  India  the  memory  was  developed  to 
an  extent  which  we  in  our  day  and  country 


INDIAN  PHILOSOPHY 


i3 


would  consider  almost  incredible.  It  is  safe 
to  say  that  the  Vedas  can  be  traced  back  for 
at  least  seven  thousand  years,  and  I think 
that  most  scholars  and  students  of  Orientalia 
now  agree  in  believing  this  to  be  a 
conservative  estimate.  But  long  before  a 
line  of  the  Vedas  was  committed  to  memory 
the  clans  which  were  as  yet  forming  their 
philosophy  only  subconsciously  were  fight- 
ing their  way  into  Northern  India  over  the 
Pamir  plateau.  The  exact  date  of  this  vast 
incursion  will  now  probably  never  be  known, 
and  even  its  approximate  era  is  still  a matter 
of  more  or  less  haphazard  speculation.  On 
the  basis  of  the  most  recent  geological,  ethno- 
logical, and  philological  data,  most  of  us  who 
are  interested  in  these  matters  assume  the 
Aryan  invasion  to  have  taken  place  not  less 
than  five  hundred  centuries  ago.  Yet  even 
then  there  was  a certain  hierarchy  among 
the  invaders.  They  were  divided — I will 
not  say  into  two  castes,  because  caste  is 
often  a misleading  word — but  rather  into 
two  sociological  groups  : the  warriors  and 
powerful  men  of  the  different  tribes,  and  the 
herdsmen  and  agriculturalists  who  followed 
their  leadership. 


14 


THE  SATAKAS 


I have  said  that  during  this  period  of 
invasion  a philosophy  was  being  sub- 
consciously formed ; but  it  did  not  actually 
mature  until  the  aborigines  in  Northern 
India  had  been  subdued  and  turned  into 
slaves,  and  until  the  Aryans  had  definitely 
seized  on  certain  lands  and  settled  there,  and 
given  up  their  wandering  habits.  This 
would  naturally  lead  to  the  almost 
simultaneous  development  of  the  two  supple- 
mentary castes  or  classes.  The  definite 
possession  of  land  would  naturally  tend  to 
distinguish  the  farmers  or  Vaishya  caste 
from  the  fighting  or  Kshattriya  caste.  The 
lowest  caste,  or  Sudras,  were  naturally 
looked  upon  as  being  on  an  infinitely  lower 
level  than  the  two  higher  classes,  because 
primarily  and  above  all  there  was  a difference 
of  blood  between  them  and  their  conquerors, 
exactly  as  there  was  a difference  of  blood, 
though  not  nearly  to  the  same  extent,  between 
the  Kshattriyas  and  the  Vaishyas.  Simultan- 
eously with  the  formation  of  the  Sudra  caste, 
however,  and  the  sharper  distinction  be- 
tween the  Kshattriyas  and  the  Vaishyas,  the 
need  for  a higher  caste  was  felt,  owing  to 
the  necessity  for  better  guidance.  This 


INDIAN  PHILOSOPHY 


15 


necessity  followed  as  a matter  of  course. 
We  know  how  relatively  easy  it  is  to  support 
Life  in  most  parts  of  agricultural  India  at 
the  present  day,  and  with  a much  smaller 
population  and  a fresher  soil  life  thousands 
of  years  ago  in  the  great  sub-continent  must 
have  been  practically  self-supporting.  The 
warriors,  once  the  aborigines  had  been 
definitely  conquered,  found  little  necessity 
for  continuous  fighting  until  in  later  ages 
they  began  to  fight  among  themselves.  Two 
important  factors,  therefore,  contributed  to 
the  development  of  the  spiritual  Brahmin 
caste.  The  first  and  less  important  was  the 
fact  that  although  physical  fighting  was  less 
necessary  intellectual  combats  in  the  form 
of  administration  were  about  to  be  fought, 
for  the  lower  classes  of  the  State  had  to  be 
kept  in  order  by  the  higher,  and  something 
more  than  mere  brute  force  is  always 
essential  for  this.  The  second  factor,  which 
was  by  far  the  more  important,  was  that 
natural  impulse  in  the  soul  of  man  that 
makes  him  look  instinctively  to  some  higher 
power;  the  impulse  that  leads  to  animism, 
totemism,  fetichism,  or  any  of  the  other 
numerous  primitive  forms  of  spiritual  ex- 


i6 


THE1  SATAKAS 


pression.  It  thus  came  about  that  we  find  in 
one  of  the  early  Upanishads  the  question  set 
forth  almost  in  the  same  words  as  it  appears 
in  the  writings  of  the  Greek  philosophers  or 
the  Chinese  philosophers  and  the  philoso- 
phers of  modern  Europe;  questions  which 
must  have  been  asked  for  thousands  of  years 
before  they  were  at  length  written  down  in  a 
permanent  form  : Whence  are  we  born  ? 
How  do  we  live  ? Whither  are  we  going  ? 

Now,  all  the  evidence  we  have  goes  to  show 
that  the  first  men  of  profound  spiritual 
insight  who  set  themselves  to  solve  these 
problems  as  best  they  might  sprang  from  the 
most  aristocratic  of  the  warrior  clans.  In  the 
course  of  time  they  and  their  wives  and 
families  formed  an  entirely  separate  caste. 
They  naturally  intermarried  and  thus  cut 
themselves  off  even  by  blood  from  what 
had  formerly  been  the  highest  caste  in  the 
social  order.  Their  aristocratic  upbringing 
naturally  accompanied  them  and  influenced 
them,  whence  it  followed  that  the  earliest 
Indian  philosophy,  thousands  of  years  before 
a single  one  of  its  tenets  was  committed  to 
paper,  and  even  generations  before  any  part 
of  it  was  committed  to  memory,  assumed 


INDIAN  PHILOSOPHY 


17 


a distinctly  aristocratic  trend.  These  early 
thinkers  had  no  means  at  their  disposal  such 
as  we  have  : they  were  not  surrounded  by 
the  works  of  learned  men,  and  the  first 
generation  of  them  could  not  be  said  even  to 
have  possessed  the  society  of  learned  men. 
Instinctively  faithful  to  the  true  Indian  ideal, 
they  quietly  renounced  what  they  looked 
upon  as  the  delusive  pleasures  of  this  world, 
gave  themselves  up  to  a solitary  existence 
in  forests  or  in  mountain-caves,  and  spent 
their  time  in  meditation.  And  from  such 
beginnings  sprang  the  most  wonderful 
philosophical  fabric  ever  reared. 

One  feature  of  the  rise  of  the  Brahmins 
may  be  mentioned  here,  although  it  did  not 
take  place  until  long  after  the  period  which 
has  just  been  referred  to.  When  the 
numbers  of  the  Brahmins  had  considerably 
increased  and  they  alone  had  the  privilege 
of  interpreting  religious  beliefs,  philo- 
sophical tenets,  and  the  law  codes  to  the 
other  castes,  they  wished  to  arrogate  to 
themselves  the  supreme  power  in  the  State, 
not  merely  in  fact,  but  also  in  name.  This 
pretension  was  almost  at  once  disputed  by 
the  warrior  caste,  and  Indian  society  would 

B 


i8 


THE  SATAKAS 


appear  to  have  been  shaken  to  its  very  depths 
by  fierce  battles  fought  with  physical  rather 
than  intellectual  weapons  between  the 
warriors  who  wished  to  be  priests  and  the 
priests  who  showed  that  on  occasion  they 
could  act  as  warriors.  More  remarkable  still 
perhaps  is  the  fact  that  the  warrior  caste 
seems  to  have  been  utterly  defeated  and  in 
fact  all  but  annihilated  by  the  Brahmins. 
Just  before  it  was  too  late,  however,  the 
•priests  perceived  the  error  of  which  they 
had  very  nearly  been  guilty.  Intellectual 
life  is  impossible  if  the  thinker  is  brought 
into  daily  touch  with  the  coarser  side  of 
existence,  with  the  details  of  administration, 
with  the  mob  and  the  ways  of  the  mob.  An 
intelligent  executive  is  nevertheless  neces- 
sary, and  it  must  be  interposed  between 
those  who  think  and  the  vast  crowd  of  the 
common  people.  This  intelligent  executive 
had  been  supplied  in  India  by  the  statesmen 
and  warrior  caste.  If  this  caste  had  been 
completely  ruined,  its  place  would  have  had 
to  be  taken  by  the  Brahmins  themselves, 
and  it  is  obvious  that  administrative  functions 
would  have  left  neither  time  nor  opportunity 
for  the  progress  of  culture  or  the  development 


INDIAN  PHILOSOPHY 


J9 


of  thought.  Before  it  was  too  late,  there- 
fore, the  Brahmins  gathered  together  the 
fragments,  as  it  were,  of  the  warrior  caste, 
definitely  imposed  certain  functions  upon  it, 
and  then  went  back  to  their  forests  and  their 
caves.  This  is  a unique  event,  and  is  worthy 
of  more  than  a mere  passing  glance.  It  is 
no  doubt  true  that  culture  and  philosophy 
have  existed  in  Europe,  to  take  an  example 
with  which  we  should  be  fairly  familiar,  for 
more  than  twenty  centuries.  But  even  those 
among  us  who  do  not  profess  to  be  very 
ardent  students  of  the  classics  will  be  the 
first  to  admit  that  we  have  not  developed  in 
a cultural  or  philosophical  sense  beyond 
where  the  ancient  Greeks  left  off  : we  have, 
it  is  true,  made  great  strides  in  purely 
material  things,  but  in  spiritual  affairs  we 
are  little  wiser  than  Plato,  Herakleitus,  or 
Pythagoras.  And  in  England,  above  all, 
spiritual  knowledge  has  been  on  a low  level 
since  the  days  of  Elizabeth,  not  because 
high-minded  men  were  lacking  among  us, 
but  because  their  energies  were  overpowered 
by  men  who  from  the  standpoint  of  the  soul 
were  on  a lower  level  than  themselves,  and 
driven  into  paths  for  which  they  were  not 


20 


tTHE  SATAKAS 

precisely  fitted — first  of  all,  the  capture  and 
colonising  of  distant  lands,  and  consequently 
the  administration  of  the  lands  thus  acquired. 
There  is  in  every  country  a certain  proportion 
of  intellect.  In  India,  Greece,  and  France, 
to  name  three  instances,  a proper  proportion 
of  this  intellect  was  directed  in  suitable  and 
adequate  cultural  channels ; but  the  limited 
supply  of  this  intellectual  force  in  England 
has  long  been  diverted  to  administrative 
functions,  with  the  result  that  practically 
none  of  it  is  left  to  carry  on  our  cultural 
traditions. 

This  mistake,  as  we  have  seen,  the 
Brahmins  avoided  just  in  time.  They 
thoughtj  which  is  a difficult  task ; and  they 
left  it  to  the  intelligent  classes  immediately 
below  them  to  act,  which  is  a less  difficult 
task.  Hence  there  is  from  the  very  begin- 
ning of  Indian  thought  down  practically  to 
the  present  day  a steady  spiritual  progress. 
There  is  one  definite  traditional  line;  for 
without  tradition  there  can  be  neither  art 
nor  philosophy  nor  literature.  Occasionally 
there  were  Indian  philosophers  who  shot  off 
at  a tangent',  just  as  there  were  others  whose 
footsteps  often  stumbled  and  hesitated  as 


INDIAN  PHILOSOPHY 


21 


they  advanced,  but  in  general  this  line  was 
followed  by  all  Indian  thinkers.  It  is  a 
somewhat  difficult  matter  to  explain  to  the 
European  precisely  what  this  traditional 
line  of  Indian  thought  is ; yet  it  must  be 
explained  as  adequately  as  possible  before 
the  various  aspects  of  Indian  philosophy  can 
be  properly  grasped.  Let  the  following  serve 
as  an  attempt  to  condense  the  essential 
principle  of  Hindu  religious  philosophy  into 
a fairly  intelligible  form  : 

Matter  follows  the  spirit,  and  consequently 
the  spirit,  or  as  we  Europeans  would  perhaps 
say  the  soul,  being  the  spiritual  part  of  the 
body,  is  more  important,  infinitely  more 
important,  than  the  mere  physical  body. 
This  unimportant  physical  body  of  ours  may 
date,  if  we  like  to  say  so,  from  the  moment 
if  its  birth,  but  the  only  important  part  of 
us,  that  is,  the  soul,  does  not  date  from  the 
birth  of  the  mere  body,  but  from  all  eternity. 
Our  body  is  born  and  dies,  but  we  are 
reincarnated  time  after  time  by  the  only 
sensory  part  of  us,  viz.  the  soul,  which  is 
transmigrated  or  reincarnated  from  body  to 
body. 

Our  soul  cannot  be  looked  upon  as  a 


22  fTHE1  SATAKAS 

created  thing,  for  if  it  were  created,  it  would 
be  liable  to  perish  and  decay,  whereas  it 
is  really  permanent.  Not  being  a creation, 
therefore,  our  soul  must  be  properly  de- 
scribed as  an  emanation.  From  what  then 
does  our  soul  emanate  ? From  Infinity — 
not  precisely  from  that  which  in  the  Christian 
Scriptures  is  called  Chaos.  This  infinity, 
or  rather  this  state  of  infinity,  is  known  to 
Hindu  philosophers  by  the  neuter  word 
Brahman — a very  different  thing,  it  must 
be  recollected,  from  the  God  we  afterwards 
come  to  know  as  Brahma.  This  infinity,  or 
Brahman,  is  the  origin — in  so  far  as  the 
subtle  metaphysics  of  Indian  philosoph}?-  will 
allow  us  to  speak  of  an  origin  at  all — of  all 
things.  Brahman  is  even  the  origin  of  God 
— the  most  remarkable  philosophic  principle 
ever  conceived,  and  one  that  takes  a stride 
further  back  into  the  primitive  development 
of  mankind  than  any  other  religion. 

Whether  or  not  God  is  endowed  with  the 
function  of  creating  does  not  matter  when 
we  wish  to  consider  the  soul,  because  the 
soul,  like  God  himself,  is  an  emanation  from 
Brahman.  The  soul  is  thus  self-existent, 
but  being  beyond  the  influence  of  matter, 


INDIAN  PHILOSOPHY 


23 


and  being  likewise  an  emanation,  it  is 
continually  struggling  to  rid  itself  from 
matter  altogether — i.e.  from  the  body — and 
to  get  back  to  its  source  in  order  to 
become  again  one  with  the  Infinite.  Only 
when  it  has  been  thus  absorbed  by  the 
Infinite  again  does  it  attain  to  its  full  state 
of  bliss. 

It  may  be  held  by  Europeans  that  this  is 
in  direct  contradiction  to  the  aristocratic 
development  of  the  Indian  individuum,  and 
that  the  soul,  by  thus  once  again  becoming 
one  with  the  Infinite,  entirely  loses  its  own 
individuality.  But  there  are  innumerable 
answers  to  this  objection,  and  they  may  be 
concisely  summed  up  when  we  say  that, 
although  the  soul  may  experience  a certain 
amount  of  happiness  in  sharing  the  con- 
sciousness of  body  after  body,  it  must 
necessarily  experience  infinitely  more  happi- 
ness, incalculable  happiness  in  fact,  when  it 
is  in  a position  to  share  the  consciousness  of 
the  entire  universe. 

This  happiness  may  eventually  be  attained 
by  the  soul,  but  owing  to  the  evil  actions  of 
men  on  earth  it  naturally  follows  that  they 
— i.e.  the  spiritual  part  of  them,  their  souls 


24 


THE  SATAKAS 


— cannot  attain  to  this  universal  happiness 
all  at  once.  In  some  cases  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  generations  must  elapse  and  in 
other  cases  hundreds  of  thousands  of  years. 
Hence  the  calmness  with  which  the  Hindu 
will  endure  suffering  and  pain  and  cruelty, 
and  hence  also  the  calmness  with  which  he 
will  contemplate  the  pain  and  suffering  of 
his  fellows,  end  the  infliction  of  cruelty  upon 
them ; for  sympathy,  as  we  understand  the 
word  and  the  thing  in  the  West,  is  all 
but  unknown  in  the  East.  If  a Hindu  is 
stricken  with  disease  or  is  treated  with  the 
grossest  injustice,  or  is  plunged  into  the 
depths  of  misery  and  despair  by  the  loss  of 
parents,  wife,  children,  or  property,  he  does 
not  utter  mournful  complaints  about  the 
injustice  of  fate.  He  realises  that  one  of  two 
things  is  happening  to  him,  or  possibly  even 
both  at  once  : he  is  being  punished,  and 
justly  punished,  no  doubt,  for  his  evil  actions 
in  a former  existence,  although  his  memory 
does  not  extend  so  far  back  as  this  previous 
incarnation,  and  he  has  forgotten  his 
wickedness ; or  else  he  is  being  punished  in 
order  that  he  may  acquire  merit,  and  so  live 
a better  life  when  his  soul  leaves  its  present 


INDIAN  PHILOSOPHY  25 

abode  and  passes  into  some  other  earthly 
habitation. 

This  emanation  of  the  soul  from  the 
Infinite,  and  its  continual  reincarnation  in 
body  after  body  until  it  has  acquired  sufficient 
merit  to  return  to  the  Infinite  again,  is  the 
traditional  principle  of  Hindu  religion  and 
philosophy,  and  I have  tried  to  explain  it 
as  clearly  as  possible.  One  question,  how- 
ever, will  instantly  suggest  itself  to  the 
reader,  viz.  what  process  must  the  soul 
go  through  in  order  that  it  may  acquire 
sufficient  merit,  to  use  the  well-known 
expression,  to  make  itself  again  one  with  the 
Infinite  ? 

Obviously  the  first  step  to  be  taken  towards 
unity  with  the  Infinite  is  to  free  oneself 
as  far  as  possible  from  this  world.  Suicide 
is  useless  as  a means  to  this  end,  because  the 
soul  would  in  that  case  merely  leave  one 
bodily  habitation  for  another — it  would  be 
merely  a temporary  physical  relief,  and  not 
a permanent  spiritual  one.  For  the  soul  to 
be  reunited  with  the  universe  we  must  quit 
this  world,  not  only  bodily,  but,  what  is 
all-important,  spiritually  as  well;  and  we 
can  do  this  only  by  crushing  down  and 


26 


THE  SATAKAS 


overcoming  all  the  desires  that  attach  us,  so 
to  speak,  to  this  world.  Among  these  desires 
or  attractions  are  of  course  power,  wealth, 
good  food  and  drink,  fine  clothes,  and  the 
pleasures  of  sex.  These  things  we  must 
all  renounce.  Hence  we  find  Bhartrihari 
deprecating  the  world  and  the  pleasures  to 
be  found  in  it — pleasures  which  he  refers  to 
as  illusions — and  telling  us  instead  that  the 
proper  example  to  follow  is  that  of  the  ascetic 
who  lives  in  a mountain-cave  or  in  the  forest, 
and  is  content  with  little,  whether  garments, 
food,  or  drink.  His  book  is  by  no  means  a 
long  one,  but  nevertheless  this  principle  is 
impressed  upon  us  over  and  over  again. 
Practically  the  whole  of  the  Vairagya  Sataka 
is  one  long  glorification  of  the  life  of  the 
ascetic,  and  an  appeal  to  us — at  times  almost 
pathetic  in  its  intensity — to  give  up  the 
pleasures  of  the  world  for  something  better 
and  more  lasting.  By  meditation  we  become 
pure,  and  the  more  we  concentrate  our  mind 
on  Brahma  the  less  we  shall  feel  the 
attractions  of  the  world,  the  more  merit  we 
shall  acquire,  and  all  the  sooner  consequently 
shall  we  fit  ourselves  for  the  supreme  bliss. 

Nothing  is  ever  carried  out  to  its  logical 


27 


INDIAN  PHILOSOPHY 

conclusion.  It  is  obvious  that  if  every  unit 
in  Indian  society  bad  become  an  ascetic,  the 
magnificent  hierarchy  in  the  social  order 
would  have  become  a chaos,  there  would  have 
been  no  one  to  attend  to  the  fields  or  the  herds, 
and  there  would  have  been  no  one  even  to 
supply  the  begging  ascetic  with  the  few  alms 
he  required.  There  did,  indeed,  come  a time 
in  the  later  history  of  Brahminism  when 
there  was  a superabundance  of  ascetics, 
but  human  nature  soon  restored  the  normal 
balance.  One  effect,  however,  these  religious 
principles  did  have,  and  that  was  to  develop 
a contemplative  mind  in  practically  every 
Hindu,  developing  at  the  same  time  a 
peculiar  calmness,  accompanied  nevertheless 
by  a strong  will  power ; a joint  phenomenon 
which  has  always  puzzled  Westerners  unac- 
quainted with  the  bases  of  Indian  thought. 
It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say,  however,  that 
very  different  meanings  may  be  attached  to 
meditation,  and  what  may  be  good  meditative 
qualities  in  one  mind  may  not  be  so  in 
another.  The  question  having  been  posed, 
How  can  “we  become  one  wjth  the  Infinite  ? ’ ’ 
the  answers  were  not  long  in  being  given. 
What,  perhaps,  will  strike  the  European  as 


'28 


THE  SATAKAS 


significant  is  the  exceedingly  minute  manner 
in  which  all  the  processes  of  the  mind  have 
been  analysed  in  India,  together  with  all  the 
effects  produced  on  the  mind  by  external 
things.  Hardly  any  intellectual  process  has 
been  left  unaccounted  for,  and  every  possible 
shade  of  subtle  meaning  has  been  covered  by 
a word.  There  is  one  expression  to  indicate 
the  relationship  existing  between  water  and 
ice,  and  another  to  indicate  the  relationship 
existing  between  cloth  as  cloth  and  the  same 
cloth  made  up  into  garments.  These 
distinctions  have  perhaps  been  carried  to 
their  greatest  extreme  in  that  system  of 
Indian  philosophy  known  as  the  Nyaya, 
which  has  often  been  called  the  Hindu  system 
of  logic. 

This  Nyaya  system  of  philosophy  which 
has  just  been  referred  to  is  one  of  the  so- 
called  six  orthodox  systems — orthodox,  not 
in  that  they  agree  on  the  nature  or  even  the 
existence  of  God,  but  in  the  sense  that  they 
acknowledge  more  or  less  implicitly  the 
authority  of  the  Vedic  writings.  I have  said 
elsewhere  1 that  wherever  we  find  a religious 

1 “ The  Religions  and  Philosophies  of  the  East.” 
(T.  Werner  Laurie.) 


INDIAN  PHILOSOPHY 


29 


system  well  developed  and  capable  of  in- 
fluencing almost  every  branch  of  even  the 
everyday  life  of  a nation,  we  find  that  as 
a general  rule  there  is  comparatively  little 
room  or  necessity  for  a supplementary  system 
of  philosophy.  It  is  approximately  correct 
to  say  that  the  principles  of  Hindu  religion 
are  laid  down  in  the  sacred  writings  known 
as  the  Vedas,  and  that  the  six  orthodox 
systems  of  Indian  philosophy  really  amount 
in  the  end  to  little  more  than  commentaries 
on  the  Vedas.  Three  of  these  “ systems  ” 
indeed  so  closely  resemble  the  other  three  that 
they  may  be  described  in  pairs  : (1)  Mimamsa 
and  Vedanta,  (2)  Sankhya  and  Yoga,  and 
(3)  Nyaya  and  Vaisehika. 

It  is  true  there  are  critics  who  hold  that 
the  Mimamsa  is  not,  strictly  speaking,  a 
philosophjr  at  all ; but  if  we  are  going  to  omit 
the  Mimamsa  system  from  this  list,  we  may 
as  well  leave  out  the  other  five  systems  also. 
Mimamsa — or  rather  Purva-Mimamsa,  i.e. 
preliminary  inquiry — is  an  attempt  to 
systematise  the  principles  which  should  be 
applied  to  the  interpretation  of  Scripture, 
i.e.  to  the  interpretation  of  the  Vedas.  We 
know  this  in  Europe  by  the  shorter  title  of 


3o  THE  SATAKAS 

exegesis.  Apparently  the  Mimamsa  philos- 
ophy dates  from  the  second  or  third  century 
of  our  era,  and  its  reputed  founder  was  one 
Jaimini,  a sort  of  Indian  Thomas  Aquinas. 
The  name  of  the  second  system,  Vedanta, 
means  “ end  of  the  Veda,”  and  the 
alternative  name  for  it  of  Uttara-Mimamsa, 
meaning  “ later  inquiry,”  serves  to  describe 
it  concisely.  It  sets  forth  at  considerable 
length  the  process  by  which  all  things  arose 
from  Brahman,  to  which  the  soul  is  later  on 
destined  to  return. 

The  third,  or  Sankhya  system,  is  ascribed 
to  Kapila,  and  represents  what  may,  for  the 
sake  of  convenience,  be  called  the  materi- 
alistic side  of  Indian  philosophy.  Sankhy- 
aists  ascribe  the  origin  of  the  earth  to  a 
material  first  cause  devoid  of  intelligence, 
from  which  the  universe  has  been  developed 
by  a process  of  unconscious  evolution.  It 
will  thus  be  seen  that  this  third  system  of 
Indian  philosophy  has  something  in  common 
with  the  older  school  of  English  evolutionists. 

To  the  twenty-four  principles  laid  down 
by  the  Sankhyaists,  the  adherents  of  the 
fourth  or  Yoga  system  add  a twenty-fifth  : 
“ Nirguna  purusha,”  i.e.  the  man,  or 


INDIAN  PHILOSOPHY 


3i 


rather  the  self,  without  attributeis.^  This 
principle  presupposes  evolution  based  on 
some  theistic  principle,  and  on  this  account 
the  Yoga  is  occasionally  referred  to  as  the 
theistic  or  Sesvara  Sankhya. 

The  fifth  and  sixth  systems  differ  essen- 
tially from  one  another  in  so  few  points 
that  they  are  usually  studied  together. 
Nyaya,  which  literally  translated  means 
method  or  rule,  is  chiefly  noteworthy  for 
its  complicated  dialectics.  The  Vaisehika 
system  is  so  called  from  its  main  principle, 
viz.  that  each  separate  atom  (visesha) 
possesses  its  own  individuality,  and  that  the 
cosmos  has  been  formed  from  an  agglomera- 
tion of  these  atoms.  This  last  system  is  a 
late  development — it  probably  dates  from 
the  fifth  century  of  our  era — and  it  is 
interesting,  but  perhaps  not  very  profitable, 
to  compare  the  Indian  atomic  system  as  set 
forth  in  it  with  the  atomic  theory  enunciated 
by  Lucretius. 

But  no  account  of  Indian  philosophy, 
however  elementary,  would  be  complete 
without  mention  of  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  books  in  literature,  philosophy  or 
religion,  the  Bhagavad-Gita.”  This  work. 


32  THE  SATAKAS 

although  written  at  an  earlier  date  than  the 
treatises  on  some  of  the  six  philosophical 
systems  already  mentioned,  nevertheless 
includes  principles  common  to  them  all.  It 
is  read  by  all  creeds,  castes,  and  classes  of 
Hindus,  and  is  of  great  importance  in  that 
it  forms  the  basis  of  Hinduism  as  we  know 
it  at  the  present  day — modern  Hinduism 
may  be  summed  up  as  a corrupt  form  of  the 
ancient  Vedism,  influenced  to  some  extent, 
although  not  very  greatly,  by  the  principles 
of  the  Buddhists.  Bhagavad-Gita  means 
‘ ‘ the  song  of  the  adored  one,  ’ ’ or,  as  it  has 
perhaps  been  more  accurately  translated, 
“ the  divine  lay.”  The  hero  or  god  of  the 
book  is  Krishna,  and  the  term  Bhagavad- 
Gita  or  “ adored  one  ” is  applied  to  him 
when  he  is  identified  with  the  Deity.  We 
thus  get  the  expression  Krishnaism,  which 
is  often  used  to  indicate  the  faith  outlined  in 
the  “ Bhagavad-Gita.”  This  book  nominally 
forms  a part  of  the  well-known  Indian 
epic  poem,  the  “ Mahabharata  ” ; but  there 
is  little  connection  between  it  and  the  other 
poems  that  go  to  make  up  that  long  epic — it 
is  as  if  a chapter  from  the  New  Testament 
had  unexpectedly  found  its  way  into  the 


INDIAN  PHILOSOPHY 


33 


Iliad.  There  is  therefore  some  ground  for 
believing,  as  most  modern  critics  do,  that 
the  “ Bhagavad-Gita  ” was  simply  added  to 
the  “ Mahabharata  ” at  a later  date  to  give 
it  the  authority  of  antiquity  and  of  divine 
inspiration.  Probably  the  book  appeared 
in  a written  form  about  the  first  century  of 
our  era,  and  there  are  many  resemblances 
between  it  and  the  New  Testament.  It  is 
beyond  the  scope  of  this  Introduction  to  say 
which  borrowed  from  the  other,  and  I have 
already  referred  to  the  matter  elsewhere. 
It  will  be  sufficient  for  our  purpose  to  say 
that  it  is  much  more  likely  that  the  New 
Testament  writers  borrowed  from  the 
“ Bhagavad-Gita  ” than  vice  versa.  As  an 
instance  of  a resemblance  between  the  two 
scriptural  works  a quotation  or  two  may  be 
given.  Krishna  says  (ix.  27)  “ whatever 
thou  doest ; whatever  thou  eatest ; whatever 
thou  sacrificest ; whatever  thou  givest  away  ; 
whatever  mortification  thou  mayest  perform  : 
do  all  as  if  to  me.”  With  this  compare 
(1  Cor.  x.  31)  “ whether  therefore  ye  eat  or 
drink,  or  whatsoever  ye  do,  do  all  to  the 
glory  of  God.”  Krishna  says  again  : “Be 
not  sorrowful ; from  all  thy  sins  I will  deliver 


THE  SATAKAS 


34 

thee  ” : while  in  Matthew  ix.  2 we  read, 
“Be  of  good  cheer ; thy  sins  be  forgiven 
thee.”  Let  me  add  just  one  further  dual 
quotation,  in  which  the  resemblance 
is,  if  possible,  even  more  striking  : in 

describing  Heaven  Krishna  says  of  it  that  it 
is  a place  “ in  which  neither  sun  nor  moon 
need  shine,  for  all  the  lustre  it  possesses  is 
mine.”  The  Heaven  described  in  Revelation 
xxi.  23  is  a city  which  “ had  no  need  of 
the  sun,  neither  of  the  moon  to  shine  in  it, 
for  the  glory  of  God  did  lighten  it.” 

The  main  theme  of  the  “ Mahabharata  ” 
being  the  war  between  the  Indian  tribes  of  the 
Kurus  and  the  Pandus,  the  author  of  the 
“ Bhagavad-Gita  ” in  order  that  his  poem 
might  appear  to  form  an  integral  part  of  the 
gre  epic,  begins  it  with  a description  of  the 
battle-field  and  the  warriors.  Long  collo- 
quies take  place  among  the  leaders  of  both 
sides  in  order  that  the  reader  may  be  made 
familiar  with  the  somewhat  complicated 
series  of  births,  deaths,  marriages,  and  inter- 
marriages leading  up  to  the  main  subject. 
There  is,  we  may  note  in  passing,  still 
another  analogy  with  the  New  Testament  in 
these  preliminaries,  for  some  Indian  Herod 


INDIAN  PHILOSOPHY 


35 


is  described  as  having  put  to  death  all  the 
first-born  in  a certain  district.  After  this 
the  two  chief  personages  of  the  book  are 
introduced,  viz.  Krishna  and  his  disciple, 
Arjuna.  Their  subsequent  dialogues  develop 
for  us  their  conception  of  the  Supreme  Deity, 
Krishna  himself  being,  to  describe  him  with 
approximate  correctness,  the  god  turned  man 
who  created  the  world.  These  dialogues  may 
be  summarised  thus  : — ■ 

Krishna  is  the  Supreme  God ; he  is 
superior  to  the  other  deities  as  well  as 
Brahma,  Vishnu,  and  Siva  : furthermore  he 
is  “ the  only  existence,  the  only  real  sub- 
stance of  all  things.”  “ I am  the  Cause  of 
the  production  and  destruction  of  the  entire 
universe.”  “ Nothing  superior  to  me 
exists.”  “ I am  the  origin  of  all  gods,  the 
great  lord  of  the  world  without  beginning.” 
The  world  is  not  a creation,  but  was 
produced  by  Krishna  from  his  own  nature 
(prakriti) . He  says  : ‘ ‘ All  things  exist  in 
me.  Supported  by  my  material  essence,  I 
caused  this  entire  system  of  existing  things 
to  emanate  again  and  again,  without  any 
power  of  their  own,  by  the  power  of  this 
material  essence.  When  a devotee  recognises 


THE  SATAKAS 


36 

the  individual  essence  of  everything  to  be 
comprehended  in  one,  and  to  be  only  an 
emanation  from  it,  he  then  attains  to  the 
supreme  spirit.  Earth,  Water,  Fire,  Wind, 
Ether,  Heart,  Intellect,  and  Egoism  : into 
these  eight  components  is  my  nature 
(prakriti)  divided.  This  nature  is  an  inferior 
one ; but  learn  my  superior  nature,  other 
than  this,  of  a vital  kind,  by  means  of  which 
this  universe  is  sustained.  Understand  that 
all  things  are  produced  from  this  latter  or 
higher  nature.”  When  it  is  completely 
developed,  however,  we  find  that  the  doctrine 
in  addition  to  the  eight  component  parts 
mentioned  above  includes  fifteen  others,  the 
inferior  nature  being  designated  as  avyakta, 
or  non-developed  matter,  which  is  changed 
into  vyakta,  or  developed  matter,  by  the 
superior  nature. 

Man,  again,  is  composed  of  an  eternal, 
immortal  soul  which  is  an  emanation  from 
Krishna’s  superior  nature,  and  of  a mortal 
and  perishable  body  derived  from  Krishna’s 
inferior  nature.  The  soul  is  subject  to  trans- 
migration from  body  to  body,  until  it  is 
finally  absorbed  into  Krishna’s  essence. 
This  principle  of  transmigration  is  common 


INDIAN  PHILOSOPHY 


37 


both  to  Buddhism  and  to  Brahminism,  and 
of  course  Krishna’s  essence  corresponds  to 
the  Vedic  Brahman  or  to  the  Buddhistic 
Nirvana.  As  this  latter  word  is  by  now  fairly 
well  known  to  Western  readers,  I have  not 
scrupled  to  employ  it  occasionally  in  this 
translation  of  Bhartrihari,  where  the  text 
would  perhaps  strictly  call  for  some  other 
but  equivalent  expression. 

Reverting  to  the  ‘ ‘ Bhagavad-Gita  ’ ’ we  are 
reminded  that  the  only  real  existence  is  to 
be  found  in  the  Spirit,  which  is  eternal. 
What  we  call  matter  does  not  exist  at  all. 
Matter  is  merely  the  delusion  of  Maya,  the 
mystic  power  by  which  Krishna  the  supreme 
god  has  created  a transitory  world,  which 
appears  to  be,  but  is  not.  “ Krishna  ” is 
indestructible ; “as  a man  abandons  worn- 
out  clothes,  and  dons  new  ones,  so  the  soul 
leaves  worn-out  bodies,  and  enters  other  new 
ones.” 

Prakriti  is  composed  of  three  qualities, 
(gunas)  goodness,  passion,  and  ignorance, 
(sattwa,  rajas,  and  tamas),  and  the  soul,  being 
one  with  nature,  comes  under  their  influence. 
Hence  the  qualities  referred  to  unite  the  soul 
with  illusion  and  bring  about  transmigration. 


THE  SATAKAS 


38 

Krishna,  again,  is  responsible  for  all  our 
actions,  whether  they  are  good  or  evil,  for 
“ all  qualities  (gunas),  whether  goodness 
(sattwa),  passion  (rajas),  or  ignorance  in 
darkness  (tamas),  proceed  from  me.” 
Krishna,  we  are  likewise  told,  instituted  the 
four  castes  according  to  the  proportion  of 
natural  qualities  and  actions.  The  Brahmin 
excels  in  goodness,  the  Kshattriya  in  good- 
ness and  passion ; the  Vaishya  in  passion 
and  ignorance,  and  the  Sudra  in  ignorance 
alone.  The  “ actions  ” of  the  first  consist 
in  knowledge,  praj^er,  inspiration,  and  self- 
control,  of  the  second  sovereignty  and  the 
protection  of  the  people,  of  the  third 
commerce  and  agriculture,  and  of  the  fourth 
servitude. 

I have  previously  referred  to  the  fact  that 
at  one  stage  in  Indian  society  the  wish  of 
everybody  to  become  an  ascetic  almost  upset 
the  balance  of  the  social  order  for  a time. 
The  exhortations  in  the  “ Bhagavad-Gita  ” 
had  no  little  influence  in  restoring  the 
balance,  for  “ Krishna  ” emphasises  the  fact 
that  it  is  impossible  for  any  man  to  live  with- 
out action  of  some  sort,  and  he  imposes  upon 
all  the  castes  the  obligation  of  performing  the 


INDIAN  PHILOSOPHY  39 

duties  laid  down  for  them,  while  at  the  same 
time  renouncing  the  world  as  much  as  they 
can.  In  order  that  this  may  be  accomplished, 
of  course,  the  passions  must  be  subdued,  and 
certain  rules  are  given  to  show  how  this  may 
be  done.  “ A devotee  should  always  exercise 
himself,  remaining  in  seclusion  and  solitude, 
restraining  his  thoughts  without  indulging 
hopes  and  without  possessions,  keeping  a 
couch  for  himself  in  an  undefiled  spot,  not 
too  lofty  or  too  low.  Then,  fixing  his 
heart  on  the  Supreme  Being,  restraining  his 
thoughts,  senses,  and  actions,  he  should 
practise  devotion  for  the  purification  of  his 
soul.  Holding  his  body,  head,  and  neck,  all 
even  and  immovable,  firmly  seated,  regard- 
ing only  the  tip  of  his  nose  and  not  looking 
round  in  different  directions,  the  devotee 
should  remain  quiet  with  passionless  soul, 
free  from  anxiety  and  intent  on  me  (Krishna) 
. . . Hear  my  supreme  words,  most  sacred 
of  all.  Thou  art  very  much  beloved  of  me, 
and  therefore  I will  tell  thee  what  is  good. 
Place  thy  affections  on  me,  worship  me,  sacri- 
fice to  me,  and  reverence  me.  Seek  me  as  thy 
refuge,  and  I will  deliver  thee  from  all  sin.” 
As  we  might  expect,  Pantheism  is  an 


THE  SATAKAS 


40 

essential  doctrine  of  Krishnaism.  All  things 
are  emanations  from  God  or  Krishna,  and, 
therefore,  no  matter  what  things  may  be 
worshipped,  he  is  worshipped  in  them. 

When  we  have  thus  summarised  the 
“ Bhagavad-Gita,”  we  have  also  summar- 
ised, as  I have  previously  intimated,  many 
principles  common  to  the  ‘ ‘ Bhagavad-Gita  ’ ’ 
and  the  six  orthodox  philosophical  systems 
already  mentioned.  The  distinctions  and 
further  details  need  not  concern  us  long. 

In  the  investigation  of  truth  the  Indian 
philosopher  works  from  within  outwards  : we 
begin  with  the  ego,  and  not  with  the  non-ego  ; 
with  the  noumenon,  and  not  with  the  phen- 
omenon. The  ego  and  the  non-ego  are, 
however,  related  to  one  another,  for  it  is 
impossible  to  gain  a complete  knowledge  of 
the  one  without  some  knowledge  of  the  other. 
If  we  admit  that  there  is  an  outer  physical 
world  apart  altogether  from  its  cognition  by 
the  ego,  we  must  also  admit  that  it  is  impos- 
sible to  prove  the  existence  of  this  world  until 
the  ego  is  illuminated. 

The  Yogis,  who  fall  into  a deep  (sleep 
(sushupti)  or  into  a profound  trance 
(samadhi),  will  tell  us  that  when  they  lose 


INDIAN  PHILOSOPHY 


r4i 


consciousness  of  the  ego,  they  lose  conscious- 
ness of  the  world  at  the  same  time,  and  that 
they  do  not  begin  to  perceive  the  world  again 
until  they  are  once  more  conscious  of  their 
ego.  The  conclusion  is  thus  arrived  at  that 
the  “ I ” is  the  more  important  : conscious- 
ness of  the  “ I ” precedes  the  consciousness 
of  the  outer  world,  and  we  must  therefore 
work  from  the  ego  outwards.  The  non-ego 
does  not  exist  as  something  which  is  entirely 
independent  of  the  ego,  but  is  merely 
another  aspect  of  it.  Hence  the  non-ego  is 
merged  with  the  ego  itself  into  “ atman,” 
which  word  may  be  variously  translated  as 
spirit,  breath,  or  soul — i.e.  the  vital  spark 
that  pervades  every  created  thing.  At  other 
times  “ atman  ” may  mean  the  inmost 
nature  of  man  and  things,  when  the  word 
becomes  practically  a synonym  for  idanta, 
which  corresponds  in  a great  measure  to  the 
mediaeval  philosophic  expression  quiddity, 
and  might  occasionally  be  translated  self. 
By  a slight  expansion  of  the  meaning 
atman  ” came  to  be  used  to  represent  the 
paramatman  or  the  soul  of  the  world.  It  is 
necessary  thus  to  speak  at  some  little  length 
of  “ atman  ” because,  next  to  the  neuter 


42 


THE1  SATAKAS 


Brahman,  it  is  perhaps  the  most  important 
word  connected  with  the  Vedic  religion. 

It  is  the  philosophical  aspect  of  this 
religion  which  we  find  exemplified  in  the 
Vedic  writings  and  in  the  commentaries 
upon  them.  The  Vedas  (veda  may  be 
roughly  translated  “knowledge”)  are  also 
known  as  sruti,  i.e.  revelations — in  other 
words,  the  revelations  of  the  universal 
Brahman  or  “ atman  ” to  the  rishis,  or 
priests.  The  collections  (sanhitas)  of  the 
sacred  writings  or  “ mantras  ” comprise  : — 
1 1 ) The  Rig-Veda,  (2)  the  Saman  or 
Samaveda,  (3)  the  Yajush  or  Yaj.urveda,  (4) 
the  Artharvan  or  Atharvaveda.  To  each  of 
these  textbooks  or  manuals  of  religion  is 
attached  a series  of  prose  works  (Brahmanas) 
the  aim  of  which  is  to  explain  the  text- 
books and  the  nature  of  the  sacrificial  rites 
mentioned  in  them.  In  some  cases  further 
commentaries  are  added,  the  Aranyakas  and 
the  Upanishads.  The  Aranyakas  do  little 
more  than  supplement  the  Brahmanas  in  a 
few  points  of  little  interest  to  Europeans,  but 
the  Upanishads  are  of  greater  value  to  us, 
since  in  them  we  find  the  fruits  of  early 
Indian  speculation  on  the  problems  of  the 


INDIAN  PHILOSOPHY  43 

universe.  The  Saman  and  the  Yajush, 
dealing  mainly  with  matters  of  ritual,  and 
containing  many  quotations  from  the  Rig- 
Veda,  are  of  small  importance  to  all  but 
Hindu  theologians. 

It  is  largely  on  the  Upanishads  that  the 
six  orthodox  systems  of  Hindu  philosophy 
are  based,  and  of  these  six  systems  it  will, 
I think,  be  generally  agreed  that  the  Vedanta 
is  in  nearly  every  respect  the  most  important. 
Anyone,  however,  desirous  of  investigating 
the  Vedic  Philosophy  very  thoroughly 
may  find  the  other  ‘ ‘ systems  ’ ’ of  consider- 
able value.  Nyaya,  the  logical  philosophy 
already  referred  to,  lays  down  sixteen  padar- 
thas,  or  “ topics,”  into  which  knowledge  is 
divided.  Through  Nyaya  the  student  learns 
to  reason  syllogistically  and  to  deal  with 
fallacies  and  false  premises  to  an  even  better 
degree,  perhaps,  than  Gil  Bias  at  Salamanca. 

Kapila’s  system  of  philosophy,  i.e.  the 
Sankhya,  is  based  on  numbers  and  ascribes 
considerable  importance  to  evolution,  while 
the  Yoga,  or  system  of  union,  ascribed  to 
Patanjali,  shows  us  how  to  reach  the  profound 
state  of  trance  known  as  Samadhi,  how  to 
control  the  mind  and  the  reason,  and  how  to 


44 


THE  SATAKAS 


reach  Kaivalya,  or  a state  of  bliss  resembling 
the  Buddhistic  nirvana,  by  separating 
purusha  (self)  from  prakriti  (nature). 

From  this  it  will  be  observed  that  these 
various  philosophical  systems,  however  great 
may  be  their  intrinsic  value,  are  relatively 
of  minor  importance  when  considered  in 
con  junction  with  the  Vedanta.  I do  not 
propose  in  this  place  to  go  thoroughly  into 
this  noteworthy  system,  for  space  would  not 
permit  of  it.  It  will,  I think,  be  sufficient  for 
the  reader’s  purpose  to  know  the  main  out- 
lines of  it,  and  these  outlines  have  already 
been  set  forth  above;  for  the  importance  of 
“ atman,”  Brahman,  and  the  transmigra- 
tion has  already  been  sufficiently  emphasised, 
and  these  are  among  the  main  principles  of 
the  Vedanta  philosophy.  The  complete 
Vedanta  doctrine  for  philosophical  pur- 
poses is  summed  up  in  two  phrases  used  in 
the  Upanishads  : “ Ekam  Evadvitiyam,” 
“ Verily  one  without  a second,”  and  “ Tat 
tvam  asi  “ Thou  art  that.”  What  is 
meant  by  Tat  here  is  understood  to  be 
Brahman  as  the  cause  of  the  world,  while 
Tvam  would  appear  to  represent  “ atman  ” 
in  all  its  shades  of  meanings — in  other  words, 


INDIAN  PHILOSOPHY 


45 


we  come  back  to  the  proposition  that  the  self 
and  the  world  are  united,  are  one,  that  the 
ego  and  the  non-ego  are  indissolubly  bound. 

Max  Muller  points  out  that  this  solution 
of  the  riddle  of  the  world  goes  far  beyond 
European  ideas,  because  the  Vedanta  concep- 
tion of  what  was  the  supreme  cause  of  the 
universe  went  beyond  their  conception  of 
what  was  meant  by  God.  “ Prajapati,”  their 
God  in  this  sense,  was,  in  their  eyes,  only 
one  manifestation  of  the  supreme  cause,  that 
is,  of  Brahma,  but  as  Brahma  was  phenom- 
enal, the  cause  of  everything,  of  the  all 
in  all,  it  followed  that  man  was  likewise 
merely  a phenomenon  of  Brahman.  So  far 
as  mere  substance  went,  therefore,  creature 
and  creator  were  equal,  if  not  identical. 
The  Tat,  however,  was  something  superior 
even  to  the  creating  deity ; it  was  some  kind 
of  divine  essence  which  is  manifested,  not 
only  in  man,  but  also  in  gods.  When, 
however,  Brahman  ceases  to  be  a neuter  and 
becomes  a masculine  deity  under  the  name 
of  Brahma,  he  desires  to  know  something 
about  the  details  of  the  universe,  and  for  this 
purpose  he  is  assumed  to  divide  himself 
into  many.  When  he  has  thus  divided 


46  THE  SATAKAS 

himself,  that  part  of  the  prakriti  which  con- 
tains the  ‘ ‘ atman  ’ ’ is  called  avidta  or  nesj 
cience  and  the  other  part  of  the  prakriti,  i.e. 
the  part  forming  the  cosmos,  is  known  as  the 
Maya.  Maya  is  usually  understood  to  mean 
illusion,  and  this  may  be  taken  as  its  definite 
secondary  signification ; but  primarily  Maya 
meant  the  power  to  create,  and  it  was  applied 
especially  to  the  magic  powers  that  enabled 
a god  or  a man  to  conceal  his  own  personality 
by  creating  asomatous  beings,  incorporeal 
spirits  which,  although  leading  to  no  change 
in  his  own  identity,  nevertheless  resembled 
him.  At  a late  period  in  the  development  of 
the  Vedanta  philosophy,  the  theory  was  put 
forward  that  Brahma  was  a great  magician 
exercising  an  eternal  force  or  shakti  of  magic. 
By  this  force  he  was  said  to  have  created  the 
phenomenal  universe,  simply  as  an  illusive 
corpus  of  himself.  To  this  later  Vedantists 
added  the  proposition  that  that  which  we  call 
the  world  of  phenomena  was  not  a tangible 
form  of  something  whose  appearance  was 
illusory  but  it  was  itself  a radical  illusion. 
Maya  possesses  two  powers  ; in  the  first  place 
it  may  cause  the  absolute  self  to  appear 
limited  or  it  may  conjure  up,  so  to  speak, 


INDIAN  PHILOSOPHY 


47 


before  the  eyes  of  the  self  illusory  visions  of 
the  details  of  the  universe  as  if  they  really 
existed  outside  the  self,  and  could  be  seen  by 
the  self.  No  doubt  we  all  remember  Plato 
and  the  shadows  on  the  wall. 

As  for  the  details  of  the  Vedanta  teaching 
to  be  found  in  the  Upanishads  I propose 
to  follow  Professor  Max  Muller’s  excellent 
example  by  giving  a few  extracts  from  actual 
works  of  the  old  philosophy.  I have  chosen 
mine  from  a little  book  by  Mr  L.  D.  Barnett, 
of  the  British  Museum,  entitled  “ Some 
sayings  from  the  Upanishads,”  not  merely 
because  his  own  extracts  are  sufficiently 
condensed,  though  ample  for  the  purpose, 
but  because  his  translations  are  of  a very 
high  order. 

There  was  one  Svetaketu,  Sruni’s  son.  To  him 
his  father  spake  saying,  “ Svetaketu,  go  walk  the 
Brahma  way.  Truly  there  is  none  of  our  stock 
beloved  who  is  unlearned  and  a Brahmin  by  birth 
only.” 

Twelve  years  old  was  he  when  he  went  in;  and 
when  he  was  four-and-twenty  years  old  he  had 
read  all  the  Vedas,  and  came  home  swollen  of 
soul,  deeming  himself  learned,  and  haughty.  To 
him  his  father  spake  saying,  “ Svetaketu,  thou  art 
swollen  of  soul  deeming  thyself  learned  and 


THE  SATAKAS 


48 

haughty;  but,  beloved,  hast  thou  sought  the  lore 
whereby  that  which  is  not  heard  is  heard,  that 
which  is  not  thought  is  thought,  that  which  is 
not  understood  is  understood?  ” 

“ Nay,  my  lord,”  said  he,  “ how  may  this  lore 
be?  ” 

“ As  by  one  clod  of  clay,  beloved,  all  things 
that  are  of  clay  must  be  understood,  their  several 
shapes  being  but  an  holdfast  of  speech,  and  their 
name  being  in  truth  clay.  As  by  one  copper  toy, 
beloved,  all  things  that  are  of  copper  may  be 
understood,  their  several  shapes  being  but  an 
holdfast  of  speech,  and  their  name  being  in  truth 
copper;  as  by  one  iron  nail  knife,  beloved,  all 
things  that  are  of  iron  may  be  understood,  their 
several  shapes  being  but  an  holdfast  of  speech, 
and  their  name  being  in  truth  iron;  so  is  this  lore, 
beloved.” 

“ Indeed,  my  lords  knew  not  of  this.  Had  they 
known  it  how  should  they  not  have  spoken  to  me 
thereof?  But  now  let  my  lord  tell  it  to  me.” 

“ Be  it  so,  beloved,”  said  he. 

“ Being  was  This  in  the  beginning,  beloved. 
One  with  naught  beside.  Now  some  say  that  Not- 
Being  was  This  in  the  beginning.  One  with  naught 
beside,  and  from  this  Not-Being  was  born  Being. 
But  how  in  sooth  may  it  be  so,  beloved?  ” Thus 
he  spake.  “ How  from  Not-Being  may  Being  be 
born.  Nay,  Being  was  This  in  the  beginning, 
beloved,  one  with  naught  beside. 

“ It  thought  in  itself  ‘ I will  be  many,  I will 
beget  offspring.’  It  brought  forth  Heat, 


INDIAN  PHILOSOPHY 


49 


“ The  Heat  thought  in  itself  ‘ I will  b'e  many,  I 
will  beget  offspring.’  It  brought  forth  Water. 
Therefore  whensoever  a man  sorrows  or  sweats 
from  heat  ariseth  thereupon  water. 

“ The  Water  thought  in  itself  ‘ I will  be  many, 
I will  beget  offspring.’  It  brought  forth  food. 
Therefore  whensoever  it  raineth  there  is  verv 
much  food.  From  water  ariseth  thereupon  food 
for  eating. 

“ Food  eaten  is  sundered  in  three.  The  thickest 
stock  thereof  becometh  dung,  the  middling  flesh, 
the  thinnest  Mind.  Water  drunk  is  sundered  in 
three.  The  thickest  stock  thereof  becometh  the 
body’s  water,  the  middling  blood,  and  the  thinnest 
Breath.  Heat  eaten  is  sundered  in  three.  The 
thickest  stock  thereof  becometh  bone,  the  middling 
marrow,  the  thinnest  Speech. 

“ So  Mind,  beloved,  is  of  Food,  Breath  is  of 
Water,  Speech  is  of  Heat.” 

“ Let  my  lord  teach  me  further.” 

“ Be  it  so,  beloved,”  said  he. 

“ When  milk  is  churned,  beloved,  the  thinness 
thereof  riseth  up;  it  becometh  butter.  So  indeed 
when  food  is  eaten,  beloved,  the  thinness  thereof 
riseth  up;  it  becometh  Mind.  When  water  is 
drunk,  beloved,  the  thinness  thereof  riseth  up,  it 
becometh  Breath.  When  Heat  is  eaten,  beloved, 
the  thinness  thereof  riseth  up,  it  becometh  Speech. 
So  Mind,  beloved,  is  of  Food,  Breath  is  of  Water, 
Speech  is  of  Heat. 

“ Man  is  of  sixteen  sixteenth-deals,  beloved. 
For  fifteen  days  eat  not,  but  drink  Water  as 

D 


50 


THE1  SATAKAS 


listeth  thee.  Breath  is  of  water,  once  drunk  it 
may  not  be  severed.” 

For  fifteen  days  he  ate  not,  and  then  drew  nigh 
unto  him  saying,  “ What  shall  I say,  my  lord?  ” 

“ The  Rik-spells,  beloved,  the  Yajus-spells,  the 
Sama-spells.” 

“ Nay,  my  lord,”  said  he,  “ they  come  not  to 
my  mind.” 

“ If  of  a great  piled  fire,  beloved,”  said  he, 
“ there  should  be  left  but  one  coal  as  big  as  a 
glow-worm,  it  would  not  then  burn  much  withal; 
and  so,  beloved,  of  thy  sixteen  sixteenth-deals  but 
one-sixteenth  deal  can  be  left,  and  with  that  now 
thou  has  not  any  thought  of  the  Vedas.  Eat  thou. 
Then  shalt  thou  learn  of  me.” 

He  ate,  and  then  drew  near  to  him.  Whatsoever 
he  asked  him  he  answered  all.  And  thus  he  spake 
to  him.  “ If  of  a great  piled  fire,  beloved,  there 
should  be  left  one  coal  as  big  as  a glow-worm, 
and  one  should  set  it  afire  by  laying  grass  upon  it, 
it  would  then  bum  much  withal;  and  so,  beloved, 
of  thy  sixteen  sixteenth-deals  but  one  hath  been 
left,  and  it  hath  been  set  afire  by  laying  food  upon 
it.  With  that  now  thou  hast  thought  of  the  Vedas. 
So  Mind,  beloved,  is  of  Food,  Breath  is  of  Water, 
Speech  is  of  Heat.” 

This  of  him  he  learned,  yea,  learned. 

“ Bring  from  yonder  a fig.” 

“ Lo,  my  lord.” 

“Break  it.” 

“ It  is  broken,  my  lord.” 


INDIAN  PHILOSOPHY 


5i 


“ What  seest  thou  in  it?  ” 

“ Lo,  little  seeds,  as  one  may  say,  my  lord.” 

“ Now  break  one  of  them.” 

“ It  is  broken,  my  lord.” 

“ What  seest  thou  in  it.” 

“ Naught  whatsoever  my  lord.” 

Then  he  said,  “ Of  that  thinness  which  thou 
beholdest  not,  beloved,  ariseth  this  fig-tree  which 
is  so  great.  Have  faith,  beloved.  In  this  thinness 
hath  this  All  its  essence.  It  is  the  True.  It  is 
the  Self.  Thou  art  it,  Svetaketu.” 

Brahma  in  sooth  is  this  All.  It  hath  therein  its 
beginning,  end,  and  breath,  so  one  should  worship 
it  in  stillness. 

Now  man  in  sooth  is  made  of  will.  As  is  Man’s 
will  in  this  world,  so  doth  he  become  on  going 
hence.  Will  shall  he  frame. 

Made  of  Mind,  bodied  of  breath,  revealed  in 
radiance,  true  of  purpose,  ethereal  of  soul,  all 
working,  all  loving,  all  smelling,  all  tasting, 
grasping  this  All,  speaking  naught,  heeding 
naught : this,  my  self,  within  my  heart  is  tinier  than 
a rice  corn  or  a barley  corn  or  a mustard  seed  or  a 
canary  seed  or  the  pulp  of  a canary  seed.  This  my 
self  within  my  heart  is  greater  than  earth,  greater 
than  sky,  greater  than  heaven,  greater  than  these 
worlds. 

All  working,  all  loving,  all  smelling,  all  tasting, 
grasping  this  All,  speaking  naught,  heeding 
naught,  this  is  my  self  within. 

This  is  Brahma,  to  him  shall  I .win  on  going 


52  THE  SATAKAS 

hence.  He  that  hath  this  thought  hath  indeed  no 
doubt. 

I think  that  these  selections,  together  with 
the  remarks  I have  previously  made  on  the 
Vedas,  will  give  the  reader  an  adequate  con- 
ception of  the  principles  of  Indian  philosophy. 
Some  few  difficulties  may  be  encountered  by 
the  apparent  incoherence,  or,  as  some  people 
may  be  inclined  to  say,  the  uselessness  of 
many  of  Bhartrihari’s  aphorisms.  They  all, 
however,  have  their  use  and  their  place  in 
this  book,  and  even  the  most  apparently 
useless  among  them  points  out  some  definite 
goal  to  some  section,  however  small,  of  our 
vast  Indian  population. 

One  or  two  more  or  less  excellent  transla- 
tions of  Bhartrihari  have  already  appeared 
in  India,  and  more  than  twenty  years  ago  the 
Rev.  B.  Hale  Wortham  prepared  an  English 
translation  forTriibner’s  “ Oriental  Series.” 
In  nearly  all  these  cases,  however,  the  Sringa 
Sataka  was  omitted.  It  is  true  that  this 
particular  section  of  the  book  deals  with 
eroticism  and  many  passages  would  not  be 
suitable  for  publication  in  English  without 
some  modification.  Still,  it  is  unwise  to  omit 


INDIAN  PHILOSOPHY 


53 


one-third  of  the  book,  and  I have  according^ 
included  it  here,  merely  drawing  the 
reader’s  attention  to  the  fact  that  there  are 
many  passages  in  the  Song  of  Solomon  to 
which  as  much  objection  may  be  taken  as  to 
some  of  the  aphorisms  of  Bhartrihari. 

As  for  the  author  himself,  particulars  of 
his  life  are  very  scanty.  Beypnd  saying 
that  he  ‘ ‘ flourished  ’ ’ about  the  eighth  or 
ninth  century  a.d.  we  cannot  even  assign 
a date  to  him.  Many  authorities,  however, 
give  plausible  reasons  for  thinking  that  he 
lived  as  early  as  the  second  centum . It  may 
be  taken  for  granted  that  he  was  the  son  of 
King  Gandhavasen  of  Malwa.  Bhartrihari, 
the  story  goes,  duly  succeeded  to  the  throne 
and  led  for  seven  years  an  indolent  and 
licentious  existence  in  spite  of  the  warnings 
and  entreaties  of  his  half-brother  Vicrama. 
We  are  told,  however,  that  Bhartrihari  one 
day  found  out  that  he  was  being  deceived 
by  his  favourite  wife,  whereupon  his  life 
suddenly  changed  and  he  sought  relief  in 
devotion  and  meditation.  The  aphorisms, 
according  to  the  best  authorities,  sum  up  his 
devotional  life.  This  is  the  most  probable 
theory,  although  other  authorities  hold  that 


54 


(THE1  SATAKAS 


Bhartrihari  merely  collected  many  sayings 
from  the  lips  of  wise  men,  sifted  them,  chose 
the  best,  and  handed  them  on  for  the  use 
of  posterity.  Each  Sataka  or  “ century  ” is 
supposed  to  consist  of  one  hundred  aphorisms, 
but  the  texts  vary  a little  and  a few  supple- 
mentary “ slokas,”  or  verses,  ascribed  to 
Bhartrihari  add  to  the  number.  Such  as 
they  are,  good  and  bad,  they  have  been  of 
spiritual  service  to  tens  of  thousands  on  their 
way  to  join 

“ The  innumerable  caravan,  which  moves 
To  that  mysterious  realm,  where  each  shall 
take 

His  chamber  in  the  silent  halls  of  death.” 


J.  M.  KENNEDY. 


THE  WISE  SAYINGS  OF 
BHARTRIHARI 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  NITA  SATAKA  1 

1.  Hail  to  the  Almighty  Power  who 
cannot  be  defined  in  terms  of  Time  or 
Space — who  is  Infinite  : pure  intellect  in- 
carnate; who  is  peace  and  glory,  and  whose 
unique  essence  is  self-knowledge. 

2.  I believed  that  one  woman  was  devoted 
to  me,  but  she  is  now  attracted  by  another 
man,  and  another  man  takes  pleasure  in  her, 
while  a second  woman  interests  herself  in 
me.  Curses  on  them  both,  and  on  the  god 
of  love,  and  on  the  other  woman,  and  on 
myself. 

3.  The  fundamentally  ignorant  man  is 
easily  led,  and  the  wise  man  still  more 
easily ; but  not  even  the  Almighty  Himself 
can  exercise  any  influence  on  the  smatterer. 


1 N iti = moral  principles,  moral  philosophy  : ethics. 

55 


56 


THE  SATAKAS 


4 . A man  may  tear  the  pearl  from  between 
the  teeth  of  the  crocodile ; he  may  steer  his 
ship  over  the  roughest  seas ; he  may  twine 
a serpent  round  his  brow  like  a laurel ; but 
he  cannot  convince  a foolish  and  stubborn 
opponent. 

5 . A man  may  squeeze  oil  from  sand ; he 
may  slake  his  thirst  from  the  well  in  a 
mirage ; he  may  even  obtain  possession  of  a 
hare’s  horn ; 1 but  he  cannot  convince  a 
foolish  and  stubborn  opponent. 

6.  To  try  to  lead  wicked  men  into  vir- 
tuous ways  by  the  mere  use  of  soft  words 
is  as  futile  as  tethering  an  elephant  with 
the  fibre  of  a young  lotus,  as  futile  as  the 
attempt  to  cut  a diamond  with  a piece  of 
wood,  as  futile  as  trying  to  sweeten  the  salt 
sea  with  a drop  of  honey. 

7.  God  has  given  to  man  a cloak  whereby 
he  can  conceal  his  ignorance;  and  in  this 
cloak  he  can  enwrap  himself  at  any  moment, 
for  it  always  lies  near  his  hand.  This  cloak 
is  Silence  : an  ornament  peculiarly  fitted  for 
an  ignorant  man  in  the  company  of  wise 
men. 

1 A proverbial  expression  for  something  that  does  not 
exist. 


57 


THE  NITI  SATAKA 

8.  When  I had  acquired  but  a little 
knowledge  my  pride  in  it  made  me  as 
blind  as  its  passion  does  an  elephant — my 
head  was  swollen,  and  in  my  ignorance  I 
thought  I knew  everything.  But  I soon  met 
with  wise  men  who  were  acquainted  with 
many  different  kinds  of  wisdom,  and  my 
pride  disappeared  as  if  it  had  been  only  a 
fever. 

9.  A dog  will  eat  with  delight  the  most 
noisome  and  decaying  bones,  and  will  pay 
no  attention  even  if  the  ruler  of  the  gods 
stands  before  him — and  in  like  manner  a 
mean  man  takes  no  heed  of  the  worthlessness 
of  his  belongings. 

10.  The  River  Ganges  descends  from  on 
high  upon  the  head  of  Siva,  from  the  head  of 
Siva  to  the  mountain,  and  from  the  summit 
of  the  mountain  to  the  earth.  Its  fall  is 
always  lower  and  lower,  and  in  this  way  it 
resembles  the  fall  of  any  man  in  whose  mind 
judgment  no  longer  finds  a place. 

11.  Water  will  put  out  fire ; a parasol  will 
ward  off  the  sun’s  rays  : a sharp  prong  will 
guide  the  wild  elephant,  or  a stick  the  ox  and 
ass : yea,  sickness  can  be  cured  by  the 
physicians ; and  there  are  antidotes  even  for 


THE  SATAKAS 


58 

poisons.  The  shastras  prescribe  remedies  for 
everything,  but  there  is  none  for  curing  the 
fool. 

1 2 . The  man  who  cannot  appreciate  music 
and  literature  is  exactly  like  the  lower 
animals,  even  though  he  may  not  possess 
horns  and  a tail  : though  he  eat  not  grass  he 
yet  lives  a life  precisely  like  that  of  the  kine. 

13.  Those  who  possess  not  wisdom,  con- 
trition, generosity,  knowledge,  good  temper, 
virtue,  or  uprightness,  may  take  the  shape  of 
men  while  they  live  among  us,  but  they 
travel  through  life  nevertheless  like  beasts 
that  encumber  the  ground. 

14.  It  is  better  to  roam  among  the  moun- 
tains with  the  wild  beasts  than  to  live  in 
palaces  with  the  fool. 

In  Praise  of  Wisdom 

15.  When  it  happens  that  sages,  whose 
words  are  enriched  with  beautiful  thoughts 
from  the  shastras,  and  who  convey  their 
sacred  learning  to  their  pupils,  are  compelled 
to  dwell  in  poverty,  then  the  princes  of  whom 
they  are  subjects  must  be  accused  of  foolish- 
ness, and  these  sages,  however  poor  they  may 
be,  are  the  real  rulers  of  the  country.  If  those 


THE  NITI  SATAKA  59 

whose  business  it  is  to  examine  jewels  are  so 
careless  in  their  methods  as  to  lower  the 
value  of  the  stones,  should  we  not  be  right  in 
condemning  them  ? 

16.  O princes,  cast  away  your  pride  in  the 
presence  of  those  who  are  rich  in  the  inward 
treasury  of  wisdom  : they  cannot  be  robbed 
by  thieves,  but  their  treasure,  which  is 
continually  increasing,  becomes  even  larger 
when  they  share  it  with  the  needy,  and  it  will 
not  perish  even  at  the  end  of  the  world  ! 
Who  can  compare  with  the  wise  ? 

17.  Despise  not  the  wise  men  who  have 
reached  a knowledge  of  the  Truth.  They 
cannot  be  influenced  by  money,  for  wealth 
to  them  is  but  as  grass.  An  elephant  blind 
with  passion  cannot  be  bound  by  the  stalk  of 
a water-lily. 

18.  Brahma  in  his  anger  may  prevent  the 
swan  from  gratifying  its  natural  instincts  in 
the  lotus-bed  where  it  lives,  but  he  cannot 
remove  its  faculty  of  separating  milk  from 
water.1 

19.  Bracelets  do  not  set  off  a man’s 
appearance,  nor  do  strings  of  pearls  as 

> 1 A faculty  attributed  to  the  swan  in  ancient  Indian 
literature. 


6o 


THE  SATAKAS 


pure  and  clear  as  the  moon ; nor  yet  bath- 
ing, perfumes,  flowers,  and  carefully  dressed 
hair.  Nothing  adorns  a man  but  perfect 
eloquence.  Jewels  may  perish,  but  the 
adornment  of  eloquence  lasts  for  ever. 

20.  Wisdom  is  truly  the  most  beautiful 
ornament  that  a man  can  possess.  It  is  a 
thing  of  value,  and  must  be  carefully 
watched,  for  it  brings  with  it  food,  fame, 
and  blessings.  It  is  the  lord  of  lords. 
Wisdom  is  like  a friend  to  the  man  who 
travels  in  distant  countries.  It  is  honoured 
by  kings  even  more  than  riches,  and  the  man 
who  lacks  wisdom  is  but  an  animal. 

21.  If  a man  have  patience,  why  should 
he  need  armour?  But  if  he  have  anger  in 
his  heart,  what  other  enemy  need  he  fear? 
If  he  have  knowledge,  why  should  he  need 
fire  to  consume  evil  ? If  he  live  among 
evil-disposed  people,  why  need  he  be  afraid 
of  serpents  ? If  he  possess  perfect  wisdom, 
why  should  he  strive  for  wealth  ? If  he  be 
modest,  why  should  he  require  ornaments  ? 
If  the  muses  are  his  friends,  why  should  he 
need  a kingdom  ? 

22.  Show  yourself  well-disposed  towards 
relatives  and  liberal  to  your  inferiors.  Hate 


THE  NITI  SATAKA 


61 


all  things  evil ; love  the  good ; be  obedient  to 
the  king ; honour  the  wise.  Be  firm  with 
3rour  enemies  and  respectful  to  old  men ; be 
shrewd  in  your  dealings  with  women.  These 
are  qualities  that  will  enable  the  man  who 
acts  upon  them  to  prosper  in  the  world. 

23.  Social  intercourse  with  the  wise  takes 
away  all  dullness  of  mind,  exalts  the  intel- 
lect, and  imbues  our  words  with  the  spirit  of 
truth.  What  indeed  will  it  not  do  for  men  ? 

24.  Honour  and  glory  to  those  sages  who 
are  scholarly  and  skilful  poets  ! They  need 
not  fear  that  their  fame  will  wither  away 
or  perish. 

25.  A virtuous  son,  a loving  wife,  a kind 
master,  a devoted  friend,  an  affectionate 
kinsman,  a mind  free  from  care,  a handsome 
figure,  lasting  riches,  lips  that  speak  wis- 
dom— such  are  the  gifts  that  Hari,  the  giver 
of  bounties,  bestows  .upon  the  man  who  has 
found  favour  in  his  sight. 

26.  Refrain  from  taking  the  life  or 
coveting  the  wealth  of  another.  Telling  the 
truth,  moderate  liberality  in  proportion  to 
one  s wealth,  abstinence  from  pleasure- 
seeking among  other  men’s  wives,  crushing 
the  spirit  of  covetousness,  reverence  for  the 


62 


THE  SATAKAS 


priesthood,  and  compassion  towards  all — 
these  are  the  ways  of  happiness,  ways  that 
break  no  defined  rules,  and  that  are  taught 
in  all  the  shastras. 

27.  The  man  whose  mind  is  of  a low  order 
does  not  take  the  slightest  trouble  to  pursue 
wisdom  owing  to  his  fear  of  the  difficulties 
with  which  he  may  meet ; and,  if  he  does 
make  any  attempt,  he  stops  as  soon  as  he 
encounters  an  obstacle.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  man  of  superior  mind  never  ceases  to 
pursue  when  once  he  has  begun,  no  matter 
what  hindrances  he  may  meet  with  on 
the  way. 

28.  Righteousness  must  be  loved,  and 
evil  avoided,  even  on  pain  of  death.  There 
must  be  no  intercourse  with  wicked  men,  and 
a poor  man;  however  friendly,  must  not  be 
asked  for  an  alms.  Dignity  must  be  retained, 
even  in  adversity,  and  the  doctrines  incul- 
cated by  good  and  great  men  must  be  adhered 
to,  even  though  the  attempt  to  do  so  is  as 
difficult  as  trying  to  stand  on  the  edge  of  a 
sword. 

In  Praise  of  Firmness 

29.  The  lion  may  be  overpowered  by 
hunger,  and  his  strong  frame  weakened  by 


THE  NITI  SATAKA  63 

old  age ; lie  may  lie  in  a state  of  misery  and 
at  the  point  of  death;  his  majestic  appear- 
ance may  have  departed  from  him,  and  his 
life  may  be  slowly  ebbing  away ; yet  his  one 
desire  is  to  swallow  at  a mouthful  the  brow 
of  the  noble  elephant  that  he  has  crushed  in 
pieces.  How  could  he,  the  mightiest  of  all 
living  things,  feed  merely  upon  the  withered 
grass  ! 

30.  The  dog  finds  the  dirty  little  fleshless 
bone  of  some  ox,  and  over  this  he  will  rejoice, 
even  though  it  may  not  satisfy  his  hunger  ; 
but  the  lion  scornfully  passes  by  the  jackal, 
and  rushes  upon  the  elephant.  In  like 
manner,  the  man  of  firm  mind,  no  matter 
what  a condition  of  distress  he  may  be  in, 
seeks  that  which  is  most  in  accordance  with 
his  natural  disposition. 

31.  The  dog  falls  prostrate  at  the  feet  of 
anyone  who  gives  him  food,  wagging  his  tail 
and  opening  wide  his  mouth  ; but  the  elephant 
remains  unmoved  in  such  circumstances,  and 
will  not  eat  until  he  is  coaxed  with  flattering 
words. 

32.  What  man  is  not  born  again  when  he 
passes  from  one  earth  to  another  by  trans- 
migration ? But  we  must  hold  that  the  only 


64  THE  SATAKAS 

man  who  is  truly  born  is  he  by  whose  birth 
his  family  attains  to  dignity. 

33.  There  are  but  two  uses  for  a bouquet 
of  flowers  and  for  a wise  man  : they  may  be 
exalted  [on  the  head],  or  left  to  wither  in 
the  forest. 

34.  Although  we  think  a great  deal  of  the 
half-dozen  planets  of  which  Vrihaspati  is  the 
head,  nevertheless  Rahu,  whose  power  and 
strength  are  great,  does  not  attack  them. 
The  god  of  the  demons,  though  thtere  is 
nothing  of  him  left  but  the  head,  devours  in 
his  course  only  the  lords  of  the  day  and  of 
the  night.1 

35.  Shesha  supports  all  the  worlds  on  the 
flat  surface  of  his  serpent-like  head,  and  he 
himself  is  borne  on  the  back  of  the  King  of 
Tortoises,  who  is  kept  without  difficulty  in 
his  dwelling-place  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea. 
Ah  ! with  what  ease  are  these  great  marvels 
performed  by  the  mighty. 

36.  The  son  of  Himalaya  would  have 
acted  with  much  greater  nobleness  if  he  had 


1 The  immortal  Rahu  having  offended  the  gods, 
Vishnu  cut  off  his  head.  Rahu  was  then  placed  among 
the  stars,  and  when  an  eclipse  occurred  he  was  said  to 
have  swallowed  the  sun  and  moon. 


THE  NITI  SATAKA  65 

allowed  the  angry  Indra  to  cut  off  his  wings 
with  the  flaming  thunderbolt,  instead  of 
seeking  a refuge  by  throwing  himself  into 
the  sea,  when  his  father  was  suffering  in 
misfortune.1 

37.  The  sun-stone,  though  not  sensitive, 
kindles  into  light  when  the  rays  of  the  sun 
fall  upon  it  : and  how  then  can  we  expect  a 
powerful  man  to  tolerate  an  injury  inflicted 
by  another? 

38.  A lion,  however  young,  will  rush 
upon  the  infuriated  elephant ; but  the  energy 
of  the  man  of  noble  mind  arises  from  his 
natural  temperament,  and  not  merely  from 
his  youth. 

In  Praise  of  Riches 

39.  Our  nobility  of  birth  may  pass  away  ; 
our  virtues  may  fall  into  decay  : our  moral 
character  may  perish  as  if  thrown  over  a 
precipice  : 2 our  family  may  be  burnt  to 
ashes,  and  a thunderbolt  may  dash  away  our 
power  like  an  enemy  : let  us  keep  a firm  grip 
on  our  money,  for  without  this  the  whole 
assembly  of  virtues  are  but  as  blades  of  grass. 

1 This  refers  to  a fable  in  the  Ramayana,  v.  8. 

2 A play  on  a word  meaning  “stone”  and  another 
very  like  it  meaning  “character,”  “disposition.” 

E 


66 


THE  SATAKAS 


40.  We  may  behold  a man’s  senses  and 
observe  them  to  be  unchanged ; we  may  see 
precisely  the  same  gestures  and  an  unim- 
paired intellect,  together  with  the  same  voice. 
Let  a man  remain  exactly  as  he  was  in  all 
other  respects,  he  nevertheless  becomes  quite 
a different  person  when  the  warmth  that 
wealth  has  afforded  him  is  taken  away.  This 
is  truly  wonderful ! 

41.  Let  a man  be  wealthy,  and  he  shall  be 
quite  wise,  learned  in  the  sacred  writings 
and  of  good  birth;  virtuous,  handsome  and 
eloquent.  Gold  attracts  all  the  virtues  to 
itself. 

42.  A king  is  brought  to  ruin  by  evil 
counsellors  ; an  ascetic  by  moving  in  society  : 
a child  by  being  spoilt  : a priest  by  not 
studying  the  sacred  writings  : a family  by 
the  wicked  behaviour  of.  children  : good 
manners  by  bad  habits  : modesty  by  strong 
drink  : agriculture  by  neglect  : affection  by 
absence  from  one’s  household  : friendship 
by  want  of  love  : possessions  by  careless 
management,  and  money  by  waste  and 
prodigality. 

43.  Giving,  spending,  and  losing  are  three 
ways  by  which  the  amount  of  one’s  wealth  is 


THE  NITI  SATAKA  67 

lessened,  and  the  man  who  neither  gives  nor 
spends  may  yet  be  ruined  by  the  third  way 
open  to  him. 

44.  A jewel  is  cut  away  by  the  stone  when 
it  is  polished ; a victor  in  warfare  is  killed  by 
arms  : the  elephant  is  weakened  by  passion  : 
the  islands  in  a river  become  arid  in  the 
autumn  : the  moon  wanes,  and  young  women 
become  languid  through  sexual  passion, 
though  their  beauty  does  not  deteriorate  : and 
in  like  manner  noble  men  who  have  got 
rid  of  a certain  proportion  of  their  wealth 
by  bestowing  it  on  the  needy  still  remain 
illustrious. 

45.  When  a man  is  starving  with  hunger, 
he  longs  for  a few  grains  of  rice,  but  when  his 
appetite  has  been  satiated,  he  regards  the 
whole  earth  as  but  a handful  of  grass. 
Similarly  do  objects  appear  great  or  small 
according  to  the  condition  of  their  owners  : 
it  is  only  the  change  in  the  fortune  of 
men  that  makes  things  seem  greater  or 
smaller. 

46.  If,  O King,  you  would  then  enjoy  this 
earth,  which  is  as  fruitful  as  a cow,  tend  it  as 
carefully  as  you  would  a calf.  The  earth, 
like  a bounteous  tree,  will  bring  forth  fruits 


68  THE1  SATAKAS 

year  by  year  if  it  is  constantly  and  carefully 
cultivated . 1 

47.  The  behaviour  of  a king  is  uncertain 
as  the  behaviour  of  a courtesan.  At  one  time 
it  is  false  and  at  another  true ; uow  harsh  and 
now  agreeable  : now  cruel  and  now  merciful  : 
sometimes  generous  and  sometimes  greedy  : 
either  squandering  money  recklessly,  or 
piling  it  up  like  a miser. 

48.  Authority,  renown,  the  care  of  the 
Brahmins,  generosity,  feasting  and  the 
guarding  of  friends  : what  profit  comes  to 
them  who  serve  kings  if  these  six  blessings 
have  not  fallen  to  their  lot  ? 

49.  Whatsoever  destiny  has  prescribed  for 
every  man,  that  shall  be  his  portion,  whether 
wealth  or  poverty.  He  may  be  poor  in  the 
desert,  but  he  shall  be  no  better  off  even  if  he 
live  on  Mount  Meru.2  Let  your  nature  be 
constant,  and  become  not  miserable  by  envy- 
ing the  rich.  The  pitcher  holds  the  same 
quantity  of  water,  whether  it  be  filled  from 
the  well  or  the  depths  of  the  ocean. 

50.  “Who  does  not  know  that  thou,  O 

1 In  Indian  literature  the  earth  is  often  compared  to  a 
cow. 

2 The  Indian  Olympus:  also  applied  to  any  wealthy 
place  or  district. 


THE  NITI  SATAKA 


69 

cloud,  art  the  only  support  of  the  chataka,1 
and  why,  O most  bountiful  cloud,  dost  thou 
wait  for  our  cry  of  distress  ? ’ ’ 

51.  “ Ah,  my  dearest  chataka,  hearken 

attentively  to  my  words.  There  are  many 
clouds  in  the  heavens,  but  they  do  not  all 
resemble  one  another  : some  pour  their 

waters  on  the  earth,  while  others  thunder  and 
give  forth  no  rain.” 

Do  not  demean  yourself  by  asking  favours 
of  any  chance  person  with  whom  you  may 
meet. 

Of  Evil  Men 

52.  Cruelty;  senseless  quarrelling;  the 
desire  for  the  money  or  the  wife  of  another  : 
envy  of  the  good  and  of  one’s  own  relatives  : 
these  are  the  characteristics  of  wicked  men. 

53.  Even  when  the  wicked  man  is  learned, 
he  should  be  avoided.  Should  we  fear  a 
snake  the  less  if  it  were  ornamented  with 
jewels  ? 

54.  In  many  ways  we  find  that  evil- 
disposed  persons  misrepresent  the  virtues  of 
the  good.  The  virtue  of  the  moderate  man  is 
called  dullness  : the  rigid  ascetic  is  looked 
upon  as  arrogant  : the  pure-minded  man  is 

A bird  which  is  supposed  to  live  only  on  raindrops. 


THE  SATAKAS 


70 

said  to  be  deceitful  : the  hero  is  termed 
pitiless  and  the  wise  man  contemptible.  The 
polite  man  is  looked  upon  as  servile  and  the 
noble  man  as  proud.  The  eloquent  man  is 
referred  to  as  a chatterer,  and  freedom  from 
amorous  passion  is  described  as  weakness. 

55.  If  a man  be  covetous,  what  worse  vice 
can  he  have  ? What  sin  is  worse  than 
slandering  ? Why  should  the  cheerful  man 
stand  in  need  of  penances  ? Why  should  the 
pure-minded  man  require  a sacred  bathing- 
place  ? What  virtue  is  higher  than  generos- 
ity ? If  a man  possess  greatness  of  mind, 
what  further  adornment  should  he  require  ? 
If  a man  be  learned,  why  should  he  stand  in 
need  of  the  company  of  others  ? And  if  a 
man  is  overtaken  by  disgrace,  why  need  he 
be  afraid  of  death  ? 

56.  There  are  seven  thorns  in  my  side  : 
the  moon  cast  into  obscurity  by  daylight  : a 
woman  who  has  grown  old  : a pond  without 
water-lilies  : a handsome  man  who  talks 
foolishly  : a prince  who  gives  himself  up 
entirely  to  money  : a good  man  who  is  always 
in  distress,  and  an  evil  man  who  is  admitted 
to  the  king’s  Court. 

57.  A wrathful  king  has  110  friends.  If 


THE  NITI  SATAKA 


7i 


the  priest  who  offers  up  the  sacrifice  touches 
the  sacred  fire,  then  he  will  he  burnt  by  it. 

58.  The  laws  regulating  behaviour  are 
indeed  difficult  to  learn,  and  can  hardly  be 
mastered,  even  by  the  ascetic.  The  man 
who  wishes  to  be  respectfully  silent  is  liable 
to  be  looked  upon  as  dumb  : the  man  who 
talks  agreeably  may  be  thought  too  forward. 
If  a man  stands  near  at  hand,  he  may  be 
regarded  as  troublesome,  and  if  he  stand  far 
off,  people  may  call  him  cold-hearted.  The 
patient  man  may  be  branded  as  timid,  and 
the  impetuous  man  is  looked  upon  as  ill- 
bred. 

59.  How  is  it  possible  to  delight  in  the 
company  of  a low  and  abandoned  man  whose 
evil  ways  are  all  too  obvious  : whose  wicked 
deeds  are  the  consequence  of  former  births  : 
who  dislikes  virtue,  and  lives  only  by 
chance  ? 

60.  The  friendships  which  are  formed 
between  good  and  evil  men  differ  in  kind. 
The  friendship  of  the  good  man  may  at  the 
beginning  be  as  faint  and  dim  as  the  first 
appearance  of  the  morning  light,  but  it 
continually  increases,  while  the  friendship 
of  the  evil  man  is  as  great  at  the  beginning 


THE  SATAKAS 


7 2 

as  the  light  of  the  noonday  sun,  but  it  soon 
dies  away  like  the  twilight  of  the  evening. 

61.  Deer,  fish  and  men  of  virtue,  who 
have  need  only  of  grass,  water  and  ppQpe 
in  this  world,  are  deliberately  pursued  by 
huntsmen,  fishermen  and  envious  people. 

Of  the  Character  of  the  Good 

62.  A desire  for  the  society  of  the  good  : 
love  for  the  virtues  of  others  : reverence  for 
priests  and  teachers  : diligence  in  acquiring 
wisdom  : love  for  their  wives  : fear  of  the 
world’s  reproaches  : reverence  for  Siva  : 
self-control  and  no  acquaintance  with  evil 
men — wherever  we  find  men  with  virtues 
like  these,  they  are  invariably  held  in  high 
esteem. 

63.  Firmness  in  adversity;  self-control 
in  prosperity  : eloquence  in  debate  : valour 
in  war  : desire  for  glory  : knowledge  of  the 
sacred  writings  : such  are  the  characteris- 
tics of  the  virtuous. 

64.  Private  generosity;  ungrudged  hospi- 
tality to  strangers  : abstinence  from  speak- 
ing in  public  about  one’s  good  deeds  : 
openly  proclaiming  the  benefits  received 
from  others  : humility  in  prosperity,  and 


THE  NITI  SATAKA 


73 


respect  for  one’s  fellows — this  is  a sacred 
doctrine  taught  by  the  good,  though 
adherence  to  it  may  be  as  difficult  as  the 
attempt  to  stand  on  the  edge  of  a sword. 

65.  There  are  sufficient  inward  adorn- 
ments adequate  for  the  man  of  noble  mind 
without  the  necessity  for  a more  evident 
display — liberality  for  his  hand ; reverence 
towards  the  priesthood  for  his  head ; true 
speech  for  his  mouth  : power  for  his  arms ; 
happiness  for  his  heart ; and  the  holy  Vedas, 
properly  understood,  for  his  ears. 

66.  In  prosperity  the  heart  of  the  wise 
man  is  as  soft  and  pliable  as  the  lotus ; but 
in  adversity  it  is  as  firm  as  the  imperishable 
mountain  rock. 

67.  Though  water  will  not  remain  on  a 
hot  iron,  it  shines  with  the  beauty  of  a pearl 
if  it  lies  on  a lotus  leaf  : yea,  let  a drop  of 
water  fall  under  a favourable  star  into  an 
oyster  on  the  ocean  bed,  and  it  forthwith 
becomes  a pearl.  So  also  is  the  nature  of 
men,  good,  tolerable  or  bad,  according  to 
the  society  in  which  they  live  and  move. 

68.  Three  things  are  the  reward  of  virtue 
— the  son  who  pleases  his  father  by  his  good 
deeds;  the  wife  whose  sole  concern  is  her 


74 


THE  SATAKAS 


husband’s  good,  and  the  friend  who  remains 
unchanged  in  prosperity  and  in  adversity. 

69.  Who  cannot  but  respect  and  rever- 

ence those  whose  admirable  behaviour  is 
exhibited  in  many  different  ways ; as  for 
example  in  those  who  are  ennobled  by 
humility ; those  who  exhibit  their  own 
virtues  by  speaking  only  of  the  virtues  of 
others  : those  who  even  in  their  own 

business  always  bear  in  mind  the  interests 
of  others  : and  those  who  hate  the  evil 
Speaker,  or  the  lips  that  continually  utter 
harsh  and  impatient  words. 

Of  Liberality 

70.  Trees  when  laden  with  fruit  are 
bowed  down,  and  the  clouds  when  pregnant 
with  fresh  rain  hang  near  the  earth  : and 
in  like  manner  good  men  are  not  unduly 
exalted  by  prosperity.  This  is  the  natural 
disposition  of  the  liberal  man. 

71.  The  ears  of  men  like  these  are 
ornamented  by  hearing  the  revelation  of 
divine  wisdom,  and  not  with  ear-rings ; their 
hands  are  adorned  by  liberality  rather  than 
by  bracelets  and  rings  : and  their  bodies 
shine  by  the  doing  of  good  unto  others,  and 


THE  NITI  SATAKA 


75 

not  by  being  anointed  with  the  oil  of 
sandal-wood. 

72.  A good  man  flees  from  evil  and 
pursues  the  good  : he  does  not  utter  that 
which  ought  to  be  kept  secret  : he  does  not 
conceal  his  virtues  : he  does  not  neglect  his 
friends  in  adversity  : and  he  gives  according 
to  his  means.  And  these,  the  wise  men  tell 
us,  are  the  characteristics  of  a good  friend. 

73.  The  sun  opens  up  the  lotuses;  the 
moon  brightens  the  beds  of  the  water-lilies  : 
and  the  cloud  pours  down  its  rain  unasked. 
And  in  like  manner  those  people  who  are 
naturally  liberal  are  continually  occupied 
in  bestowing  benefits  on  their  fellow- 
creatures. 

74.  Good  men  devote  their  attention  to 
benefiting  others  without  thinking  of 
themselves.  Ordinary  men  benefit  others, 
but  they  do  not  at  the  same  time  forget 
their  own  interests.  Those  men  are  demons 
who  destroy  the  good  of  another  for  their 
own  profit.  But  what  can  we  call  those 
who  wilfully  destroy  the  possessions  of 
another  ? 

75.  Milk  which  has  been  mixed  with 
water  conveys  to  the  water  its  own  natural 


THE  SATAKAS 


76 

qualities.  The  water  sees  the  milk  becoming 
hot,  and  immediately  offers  itself  up  as  its 
sacrifice  in  the  fire.  The  milk  also  wished 
to  boil  over  into  the  fire,  but,  having 
observed  its  friend’s  distress,  it  remains 
mingled  with  the  water  and  rushes  into  the 
fire  with  it.  To  this  we  may  compare  the 
friendship  of  the  good. 

76.  The  ocean  bears  the  sleep  of  Vishnu, 
and  the  mountains  also  take  refuge  in  the 
ocean  after  their  flight  from  the  demons ; 
and,  in  addition  to  this,  a great  submarine 
fire  continually  devours  the  ocean’s  depths. 
What  cannot  the  ocean  endure  ! 

77.  How  do  the  good  behave  : they  curb 
their  amorous  desires ; are  patient  in  all 
circumstances  ; are  not  deceived  by  illusion  ; 
do  not  long  for  what  is  evil ; speak  the  truth ; 
hold  fast  that  which  is  good ; seek  the 
company  of  virtuous  men ; honour  the  wise ; 
become  reconciled  even  with  their  enemies ; 
conceal  their  own  virtues ; take  care  of  their 
good  name ; and  show  themselves  merciful 
to  those  in  adversity. 

78.  How  few  noble  spirits  there  are  whose 
thoughts,  speech,  and  actions  are,  so  to 
speak,  impregnated  with  nectar,  by  whom 


THE  NITI  SATAKA 


77 


countless  blessings  are  bestowed  upon  the 
three  worlds  : who  exalt  even  the  slightest 
virtues  of  another  to  the  height  of  a 
mountain,  and  whose  hearts  are  continually 
overflowing  ! 

79.  What  profit  or  advantage  is  there  in 
Meru,  the  mountain  of  gold,  or  the  hill  of 
silver,  where  the  trees  grow  up  like  their 
companions,  and  undergo  no  change?  We 
reverence  the  hills  of  Malaya,  for  after 
coming  into  contact  with  them,  the  bitter 
nimba,  the  karaj^a,  and  the  trophis  aspera, 
become  themselves  like  the  sandal-tree. 

In  Praise  of  Constancy 

80.  Men  of  firm  mind  never  rest  until 
they  have  carried  out  to  the  end  the  task 
they  have  set  themselves  to  do,  just  as  the 
gods  did  not  rest  until  they  had  gained 
possession  of  the  nectar  : for  they  were  not 
turned  aside  from  their  search  by  pearls  of 
great  price,  or  by  fear  of  dreadful  poison. 

81.  At  one  time  a man  may  lie  on  the  hard 
earth,  and  at  another  he  may  sleep  on  a 
couch  : at  one  time  he  may  make  his  meals 
of  herbs,  and  at  another  of  boiled  rice ; at 
one  time  he  may  wear  the  meanest  rags,  and 


THE  SATAKAS 


78 

at  another  the  most  magnificent  robes.  But 
the  man  of  firm  mind,  who  is  thinking  only 
of  the  task  he  has  undertaken,  does  not  look 
upon  either  state  as  one  of  pleasure  or  pain. 

82.  A man’s  natural  disposition,  from 
which  his  virtues  arise,  is  his  most  precious 
ornament — courtesy  of  a noble  man ; gentle- 
ness of  speech  of  a hero ; calmness  of 
knowledge,  and  reverence  of  sacred  learning. 
The  highest  ornament  of  wealth  is  liberality 
towards  worthy  objects  : the  highest  orna- 
ment of  the  ascetic  is  abstinence  from  wrath  : 
the  highest  ornament  of  princes  is  mercy  : 
and  the  highest  ornament  of  justice  freedom 
from  corruption. 

83.  Those  who  are  skilful  in  reading 
character  may  be  inclined  to  praise  or  to 
blame  the  constant  man ; fortune  may  be 
kind  to  him  or  may  neglect  him ; and  he 
may  die  to-morrow  or  not  for  ten  thousand 
years.  But  in  spite  of  all  this,  nothing  can 
make  him  turn  aside  from  the  path  of 
righteousness. 

The  Power  of  Fate 

84.  One  night  a rat  fell  into  the  jaws  of 
a serpent  whose  body  had  been  forced  into  a 
basket,  and  who  was  half-dead  with  hunger. 


THE  NITI  SATAKA 


79 


Revived  by  his  meal,  the  serpent  managed 
to  struggle  out,  but,  as  a stronger  animal 
was  close  at  hand,  he  perished  by  the  same 
fate  as  the  rat.  My  friends,  be  content  with 
your  lot ! The  success  or  failure  of  men  lies 
in  the  hands  of  fate  alone. 

85.  Though  a ball  fall  to  the  ground,  it 
rises  again  when  struck  by  the  hand.  So 
too  the  misfortunes  of  good  men  are  not  often 
lasting. 

86.  Mankind’s  great  enemy  is  idleness. 
There  is  no  friend  like  energy,  and  if  you 
cultivate  that  you  will  never  fail. 

87.  When  the  tree  is  cut  down,  it  may 
grow  again,  and  the  moon  that  wanes,  waxes 
once  more.  Thus  do  wise  men  reflect;  and, 
though  they  may  be  distressed,  they  are  not 
overwhelmed  by  misfortune. 

88.  Though  Indra  was  guided  by  Vrihas- 
pati,  and  armed  with  the  thunderbolt  : 
though  the  gods  themselves  were  his  soldiers, 
and  Vishnu  his  ally  : though  he  had  Svarga 
as  his  citadel,  and  the  elephant  Airasvata  as 
his  charger ; yet  he  was  defeated.  How  irre- 
sistible is  the  power  of  fate,  and  how  vain 
the  efforts  of  mankind  ! 

89.  Discernment  is  the  consequence  of 


8o 


THE  SATAKAS 


human  actions,  and  is  brought  about  by 
deeds  performed  in  another  life.  This  must 
be  carefully  taken  into  account  by  the  sage 
who  gives  heed  to  all  things. 

90.  The  bald-headed  man  was  scorched 
by  the  fierce  rays  of  the  sun,  and  when 
he  was  looking  for  a shady  place,  fate 
guided  him  to  a palm-tree.  While  he  was 
resting  there,  the  fruit  of  the  tree  fell  on 
his  head  with  a loud  crash,  and  broke  it. 
Wherever  the  unfortunate  man  goes  he 
usually  meets  with  disaster. 

91 . When  I see  the  sun  and  moon  delivered 
up  by  the  eclipse  to  the  power  of  the  demon  : 
when  I perceive  the  bonds  that  fasten  a 
serpent  or  an  elephant,  or  when  I perceive 
a wise  man  dwelling  in  poverty,  the  thought 
forces  itself  on  me — “ How  mighty  is  the 
power  of  fate  ! ’ ’ 

92.  Fate  first  creates  a good  man — a 
stronghold  of  virtue — and  then  in  an  instant 
brings  about  his  ruin.  How  unreasoning  is 
fate  ! 

93.  It  is  not  the  fault  of  the  springtime 
that  the  leafless  tree  does  not  bring  forth 
leaves ; it  is  not  the  fault  of  the  sun  that  the 
owl  cannot  see  by  daylight ; and  it  is  not  the 


THE  NITI  SATAKA 


81 


fault  of  the  cloud  that  its  rain  does  not  drop 
into  the  mouth  of  the  cuckoo.  Who  can 
interfere  with  what  fate  has  written  on  the 
foreheads  of  us  all  ? 

In  Praise  of  Action 

94.  We  worship  the  gods,  hut  are  not  they 
too  controlled  by  fate?  Fate  must  be 
worshipped,  for  it  is  the  only  giver  of  rewards 
to  mankind  in  accordance  with  the  acts  which 
have  been  performed  in  the  previous  exist- 
ence. But  the  fruit  of  those  acts  depends 
upon  the  acts  themselves,  so  why  then  should 
we  worship  either  the  gods  or  fate  ? Let  us 
rather  worship  those  works  which  it  is  in  the 
power  of  fate  to  control. 

95.  Through  fate  Brahma  was  compelled 
to  work  like  some  artificer  in  the  interior  of 
his  egg  : through  fate  Vishnu  had  to  pass 
through  ten  extremely  difficult  reincarna- 
tions : through  fate  Siva  was  constrained  to 
lead  the  life  of  a beggar,  carrying  a skull  in 
his  hands  as  a pot  : and  through  fate  the  sun 
is  forced  to  make  his  daily  round  in  the 
heavens.  To  works  therefore  let  us  give  our 
reverence. 


F 


82 


THE  SATAKAS 


96.  What  will  bring  fruit  to  a man  as  to 
a tree  in  its  season  ? Not  beauty  : not  great- 
ness of  family  : not  strength  of  character  : 
not  learning  : not  careful  service ; but  merit 
alone  : merit  resulting  from  penances  in  a 
former  state. 

97.  Let  a man  wander  in  the  forests  : let 
him  take  part  in  war,  or  let  him  be  in  the 
midst  of  a fire  or  amongst  enemies  or  in  the 
ocean  or  on  top  of  a high  mountain  : let  him 
be  asleep  or  mad  or  surrounded  by  diffi- 
culties : the  good  actions  he  has  performed 
in  a former  life  will  nevertheless  profit 
him. 

98.  O wise  man,  make  a regular  practice 
of  cultivating  divine  virtue ; for  that  makes 
wicked  men  good,  foolish  men  wise  : enemies 
well-disposed,  and  invisible  things  visible. 
Divine  virtue  will  in  an  instant  turn  poison 
into  honey,  and  will  bestow  .upon  you  the 
fruit  of  your  actions. 

O virtuous  man,  do  not  vainly  spend 
thy  labour  on  painfully  acquiring  powerful 
gifts  ! 

99.  When  the  wise  man  begins  his  actions, 
he  looks  carefully  to  the  end  of  them,  in 
order  that  through  them  he  may  become  freed 


THE  NITI  SATAKA 


33 


from  successive  births  and  reach  Nirvana. 
Actions  carried  out  with  too  much  haste  are 
like  an  arrow  that  pierces  the  heart. 

100.  The  man  who  does  not  act  circum- 
spectly in  the  world  of  action  and  keep  a 
constant  eye  on  his  state  in  another  life  is 
even  as  one  who  cooks  the  lees  of  sesame 
over  a sandal- wood  fire  in  a pot  of  lapis  lazuli, 
or  as  one  who  uses  a golden  plough  in 
preparation  for  cultivating  swallow- wort,  or 
as  one  who  cuts  down  a camphor  grove  to 
fence  in  a field  of  coarse  grain. 

101.  A man  may  plunge  into  the  deep 
waters  of  the  ocean  : he  may  ascend  to  the 
summit  of  Mount  Meru  : he  may  conquer 
his  enemies  or  devote  himself  to  commerce  : 
he  may  plough  the  earth  and  devote  himself 
to  all  learning  and  all  art ; and  he  mqy  even 
travel  on  the  wings  of  a bird  from  one  end 
of  the  heavens  to  the  other  : but  he  shall 
nevertheless  suffer  whatever  fate  may  have 
prescribed  for  him  on  earth. 

102.  All  men  worship  the  virtuous  man 
whose  deeds  in  his  former  existence  were 
righteous  : for  him  the  terrible  wood  becomes 
a magnificent  city  and  the  whole  world  is  as 
if  filled  with  jewels. 


84 


THE  SATAKAS 


Miscellaneous  Aphorisms 

103.  What  is  of  the  greatest  advantage? 
The  companionship  of  the  good.  What  is 
the  worst  thing  in  the  world  ? The  society 
of  wicked  men.  What  is  the  greatest  possible 
loss  ? Failure  to  perform  one’s  duty. 
Where  is  the  greatest  peace  to  be  found  ? In 
truth  and  righteousness.  Who  is  the  noblest 
hero?  The  man  who  subdues  his  senses. 
Who  is  best  loved  ? The  faithful  wife. 
What  is  wealth  ? Knowledge.  What  is  the 
most  perfect  happiness  ? Staying  at  home. 
What  is  royalty?  The  power  to  command. 

104.  The  man  with  intelligence,  like  the 
jasmine  flower,  has  two  alternatives  to  choose 
from  : he  may  blossom  and  flourish  in  the 
sight  of  the  world  or  wither  away  in  the 
desert. 

105.  The  world  is  differently  adorned  in' 
different  places — by  poor  men  whose  words 
are  of  little  value  : by  rich  men  whose  words 
are  treated  with  respect  : by  those  husbands 
who  are  satisfied  with  their  own  wives,  and 
by  men  who  abstain  from  passing  censure  on 
others. 

106.  The  lighted  end  of  a torch  may  be 


THE  NITI  SATAKA  85 

turned  towards  the  ground,  but  the  flame 
still  points  upwards  : the  constant  man  does 
not  lose  his  virtue  in  misfortune. 

107.  The  arrows  shot  from  the  bow  of  love 
cannot  pierce  the  mind  of  the  constant  man, 
neither  is  he  consumed  by  the  fire  of  anger, 
nor  snared  by  the  net  of  greed  : he  is  the 
lord  of  the  three  worlds. 

108.  The  mighty  earth,  when  trodden  on 
by  the  feet  of  a single  hero,  is  illuminated  by 
his  glory  as  by  the  rays  of  the  sun. 

109.  The  constancy  of  the  constant  man 
makes  the  savage  things  in  nature  turn  into 
the  most  gentle.  By  the  power  of  constancy 
fire  becomes  as  water  : the  ocean  as  a rivulet  : 
Mount  Meru  as  a small  stone  : a lion  as 
harmless  as  an  antelope  : a savage  animal 
as  a bunch  of  flowers,  and  poison  is  even 
changed  into  honey. 

no.  Honourable  men  may  turn  away  from 
life  and  happiness,  but,  as  they  are  bent 
upon  truth,  they  do  not  cast  off  their  truth- 
fulness. Truthfulness,  which  is  the  origin 
of  modesty  and  of  all  the  virtues,  follows 
them  wherever  the}"  go  : it  makes  them  pure 
in  heart,  and  is  as  dear  to  them  as  their  own 
mother. 


86 


THE  SATAKAS 


hi.  A sour  heart;  a face  hardened  with 
inward  pride  and  a nature  as  difficult  to 
penetrate  as  the  narrowest  of  mountain  passes 
— these  things  are  known  to  be  characteristic 
of  women  : their  mind  is  known  by  the  wise 
to  be  as  changeable  as  the  drop  of  dew  on 
the  lotus  leaf.  Faults  develop  in  a woman 
as  she  grows  up,  exactly  as  poisonous 
branches  sprout  from  the  creeper. 

1 12.  It  does  not  matter  whether  a brave 
man  who  is  killed  in  the  thick  of  the  fight 
obtains  heaven  or  victory  : he  will  in  any  case 
be  held  in  the  highest  glory  by  both  armies, 
and  this  is  the  object  of  the  man  who  desires 
fame. 

1 13.  Of  all  the  great  marvels  that  I have 
ever  seen,  the  boar  and  Rahu  are  the  great- 
est.1 The  former  supported  the  round  earth 
on  his  tusks  which  were  dripping  with  water ; 
and  the  other,  who  has  only  a head,  swallows 
his  enemy  and  then  lets  him  go  free  again. 

1 14.  The  earth  is  bounded  by  the  ocean, 
and  the  ocean  extends  in  length  but  a 
thousand  yojanas ; the  sun  again  pursues  a 

1 The  god  Prajapati  assumed  the  form  of  a boar 
when  lifting  the  earth  out  of  the  waters.  Rahu  : 
v.  note  to  aphorism  34. 


THE  NITI  SATAKA 


87 


certain  definite  path  through  the  sky  ; whence 
it  follows  that  all  these  things  are  bounded 
by  certain  definite  limits.  Nothing  exceeds 
them  in  greatness  but  the  intelligence  of  wise 
men,  for  the  intelligence  of  wise  men  has  no 
limits. 

115.  There  is  one  god,  Vishnu  or  Siva  : 
one  friend,  a king  or  an  ascetic  : one  dwelling, 
in  a town  or  in  the  country ; and  one  wife, 
handsome  or  ugly. 

1 16.  The  earth  shakes  and  trembles,  even 
though  it  is  supported  on  the  king  serpent, 
on  the  great  mountains,  or  on  the  tortoise ; 
but  whatever  has  been  promised  by  pure- 
minded  men  never  fails,  even  though  ages 
may  have  passed  away. 

1 1 7.  If  the  tortoise  is  over-burdened  by 
the  weight  of  the  earth,  why  does  he  not  cast 
it  off?  If  the  sun  becomes  fatigued  as  he 
pursues  his  journey,  why  does  he  not  stand 
still?  When  a noble  man  takes  note  of 
these  examples,  he  is  ashamed  to  fail  in  his 
promises,  and  faithfully  keeps  his  word.  In 
this  manner  are  vows  adhered  to  in  the 
household  of  a good  man. 

1 18.  If  a man  is  satisfied  with  food,  he 
may  be  looked  upon  as  subject  to  the  world, 


88 


THE1  SATAKAS 

even  as  a drum  gives  forth  an  agreeable 
sound  when  its  surface  is  covered  with  flour . 1 

1 19.  Men  of  low  and  mean  minds  take  an 
interest  only  in  their  own  affairs  ; but  men  of 
noble  mind  take  a particular  interest  in  the 
affairs  of  others.  The  great  fire  on  the  ocean 
bed  absorbs  the  waters  of  the  sea  to  slake 
its  insatiable  thirst,  and  the  rain-cloud 
replenishes  itself  from  the, ocean,  that  it  may 
relieve  the  drought  of  the  arid  earth. 

120.  The  Minister  of  State,  like  the  poet, 
is  never  free  from  trouble : he  collects 
revenue  as  the  poet  collects  thoughts  from 
afar.  He  disregards  false  reports  as  the  poet 
disregards  vulgar  language ; both  devote 
themselves  to  pleasing  the  assemblies  of  the 
good,  and,  with  the  expenditure  of  much  toil 
and  labour,  the  statesman  makes  a name  as 
a poet  makes  a verse,  by  conforming  to  the 
thoughts  of  the  world. 

1 2 1 . Whatever  fate  has  prescribed  for  each 
man  in  this  life,  that  shall  be  his  portion, 
great  or  small.  Rain  pours  from  the  cloud 
day  by  day,  filling  all  things,  but  only  a 

1 That  is,  a man  praises  his  patron  when  supplied  with 
food,  as  a drum  was  heard  better  when  flour  was  spread 
over  the  leather  that  formed  one  side  of  \ 


THE  NITI  SATAKA  89 

few  tiny  drops  may  fall  into  the  mouth  of 
the  chataka. 

122.  Wise  men  must  be  reverenced,  even 
when  we  may  not  think  the  advice  they  give 
us  suitable  or  desirable.  The  ordinary  con- 
versation of  such  men  is  like  what  we  read 
in  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

123.  A good  man  may  tumble,  but  if  he 
does,  he  comes  to  earth  like  a ball,  and  rises 
again ; whereas  the  ignoble  man  falls  like  a 
heavy  lump  of  clay. 

124.  If  fate  decreed  that  the  world  were 
ever  to  become  deprived  of  lotuses,  might  we 
expect  to  see  the  swan  scratching  in  the  dust- 
heap  like  a cock  ? 

125.  Elephants  blind  with  passion  or 
heavy  with  sleep  may  stand  at  the  gate  : 
horses  decorated  with  golden  ornaments  may 
gallop  speedily  backwards  and  forwards,  and 
their  owner  may  be  awakened  by  the  sound 
of  drums,  shells,  cymbals,  fifes  and  lutes ; 
and  all  this  state — a state  like  that  of  the 
king  of  the  gods — is  the  outward  reward  of 
religious  merit  gained  in  a former  existence. 

126.  Perfect  indeed  is  the  joy  of  those 
men  whose  minds  are  awakened  to  the 
happiness  of  contentment,  but  unceasing  is 


9o 


THE  SATAKAS 


the  desire  of  those  who  cannot  resist  their 
greed  for  riches.  For  whose  sake  did  fate 
create  Mount  Meru  full  of  wealth  ? Mount 
Meru  pleases  me  not,  though  it  is  filled  with 
abundance  of  gold  and  silver,  because  it  is 
satisfied  with  itself  alone. 

127.  There  are  three  qualities,  each 
perfect  in  its  own  sphere  as  the  result  of  its 
natural  disposition  : the  red  colour  of  the 
lotus ; the  consideration  for  others  shown  by 
the  good ; and  the  want  of  respect  shown  by 
the  wicked. 

128.  Fidelity  in  keeping  promises  is  the 
noblest  quality  among  men ; leanness  is  the 
best  characteristic  of  a female  elephant ; and 
wisdom  and  patience  are  best  suited  to  a 
Brahmin.  Every  creature,  in  other  words, 
shows  to  best  advantage  when  adorned  with 
its  own  particular  ornament. 

129.  It  is  better  to  slip  from  the  highest 
summit  of  an  elevated  mountain  and  be 
dashed  to  pieces  on  the  rocks  below — it  is 
better  that  our  hand  should  be  bitten  by  the 
poisonous  fangs  of  the  most  dreadful  serpent 
— it  is  better  that  we  should  fall  into  a 
roaring  fire,  than  that  our  piety  should 
fail  us. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  VAIRAGYA  SATAKA  1 
Of  Renunciation 

1.  Hail  to  the  Almighty  Power,  who 
cannot  be  defined  in  terms  of  time  or 
space — who  is  Infinite ; who  is  Peace  and 
Glory,  and  whose  unique  essence  is  self- 
knowledge. 

2.  Wise  men  are  consumed  with  jealousy, 
the  mighty  are  injured  by  pride,  the  minds 
of  some  are  led  astray  by  ignorance,  where- 
fore it  happens  that  the  eloquent  sayings  of 
the  learned  are  left  to  fall  into  neglect. 

3.  When  I cast  my  eyes  upon  the  world, 
I see  no  advantage  in  any  action.  The  con- 
sequences of  good  actions  inspire  me  with 
fear  when  I reflect  upon  them,  for  the 
pleasures  resulting  from  the  long  practice  of 
the  highest  virtues  prevent  men  from  attain- 

1 Vairagya=lack  of  desire  for  the  world;  renunciation. 

91 


92 


THE  SATAKAS 


ing  to  Nirvana,  since  they  are  afterwards 
attracted  by  objects  appealing  to  the  senses. 

4.  I have  dug  up  the  earth  in  the  search 
for  treasure  : I have  smelted  ores  : I have 
travelled  across  the  sea  : I have  with  great 
effort  calmed  the  wrath  of  kings.  I have 
spent  my  nights  in  burial-grounds,  and  I 
have  striven  hard  to  acquire  knowledge  of 
religion ; but  all  my  strivings  have  been 
fruitless.  Desire!  wilt  thou  not  leave  me? 

5.  I have  wandered  over  strange  and 
rugged  lands,  but  without  profit ; I have  freed 
myself  from  my  pride  of  family  : I have 
carried  out  valueless  tasks  : I have  put  away 
my  self-respect,  and  have  eaten  like  the  crow 
in  the  house  of  a stranger ; but  yet,  O Desire  ! 
thou  becomest  more  and  more  powerful  : 
alwa3’S  with  evil  inclinations  and  never 
satisfied. 

6.  I have  endured  the  abuse  of  wicked 
men  in  the  hope  of  gain ; I have  smothered 
1113"  tears  and  forced  myself  to  laugh,  though 
my  heart  was  sad  and  weary  : I have 
controlled  my  feelings,  and  I have  bowed 
down  before  fools.  O fond  Desire,  how  much 
further  dost  thou  wish  to  lead  me  ? 

7.  Day  b3r  da3T  a portion  of  our  life  glides 


THE  V AIR  AG  Y A SATAKA  93 

away  from  us  with,  the  rising  and  setting  of 
the  sun,  and  we  think  our  business  of  so 
much  importance  that  we  can  pay  no  atten- 
tion to  flight  of  time.  We  perceive  that 
birth,  pain,  and  old  age  end  in  death,  and  yet 
we  are  not  afraid.  We  are,  so  to  speak, 
intoxicated — intoxicated  by  the  want  of 
infatuation . 

8.  Though  a man  might  expect  to  be 
refused,  and  might  even  stammer  when 
making  his  request,  he  would  beg  for  alms 
if  he  saw  his  wife  perishing  from  hunger, 
her  garments  worn  and  ragged,  and  her 
children  clinging  to  her  crying,  with  pinched 
unhappy  faces ; but  yet  such  a man  would 
not  beg  merely  to  satisfy  his  own  wants. 

9.  Pleasure  has  no  longer  any  attraction 
for  us ; the  world  no  longer  respects  us  : our 
contemporaries  have  died  away  one  by  one ; 
the  friends  whom  we  love  as  we  love  our- 
selves will  shortly  follow  : we  hobble  along 
leaning  on  a stick,  and  our  eyes  gradually 
become  dim.  Alas!  these  are  signs  that 
our  body  has  been  subdued,  and  that  it  is 
trembling  at  the  approach  of  death. 

10.  It  is  the  will  of  the  Almighty  that  the 
serpents  shall  gather  their  food  from  the  air 


94  THE  SATAKAS 

without  effort  to  themselves,  and  without 
injury  to  others,  while  the  cattle  have  been 
created  to  eat  blades  of  grass  and  to  lie  on  the 
ground . Precisely  the  same  method  of  living 
has  been  decreed  for  men  who  pass  through 
this  World  with  subdued  senses  : men  who 
endeavour  to  live  in  this  way  continually 
bring  themselves  nearer  and  nearer  to 
perfection. 

11.  We  have  not  meditated  on  the 
Almighty  Being  who  at  last  puts  an  end  to 
all  our  reincarnations  : we  have  not  as  the 
result  of  our  righteousness  been  able  to  open 
for  ourselves  the  gate  leading  to  Svarga  : 1 
we  have  not  gratified  our  sexual  appetites 
with  a woman,  even  in  imagination.  If  our 
life  has  been  spent  in  this  way,  we  have  but 
destroyed  the  tree  of  youth  that  came  to  us 
from  our  mother,  even  as  if  we  had  hewn  it 
down  with  an  axe. 

12.  We  have  not  gained  any  pleasure, 
but  pleasure  has  made  us  captive.  We  have 
not  endeavoured  to  practise  penance,  but  on 
the  other  hand  we  have  suffered  pain  when 
pursuing  the  joys  of  this  world.  Time  never 
grows  old,  but  our  own  lives  pass  away. 

1 The  paradise  of  sensual  enjoyments. 


THE  V AIR  AG  Y A SATAKA  95 

13.  We  have  pardoned  the  injuries  done 
unto  us,  not  because  we  wish  to  show  forgive- 
ness, but  because  we  are  unable  to  avenge 
them ; we  have  cast  away  the  pleasures  of 
home,  not  because  we  were  willing  to  aban- 
don them,  but  because  they  were  beyond 
our  reach ; we  have  had  to  suffer  pain  from 
cold  winds,  but  we  have  shrunk  from  doing 
penance  on  account  of  the  pain  it  would  have 
caused  us ; we  have  meditated  day  and  night 
on  the  art  of  getting  rich,  but  we  have 
never  meditated  on  the  Supreme  Being ; 
and  although  we  have  performed  all  the 
acts  recommended  by  wise  men  we  have 
derived  no  profit  from  them. 

14.  My  face  is  wrinkled  and  my  hair  is 
turning  grey ; my  limbs  are  weak,  and  only 
desire  is  strong  within  me. 

15.  The  same  portion  of  the  sky  that  forms 
a circle  round  the  moon  by  night  also  forms 
a circle  round  the  sun  by  day.  How  great 
is  the  labour  of  both  ! 

16.  The  objects  of  the  senses,  no  matter 
how  long  they  may  be  in  our  company,  must 
one  day  pass  away  from  us,  but  there  is  a 
difference  between  our  separating  ourselves 
from  them,  and  not  giving  them  up.  If  they 


THE  SATAKAS 


96 

leave  us,  we  shall  be  smitten  with  pain  and 
grief  difficult  to  parallel,  but  if  we  leave 
them  of  our  own  free-will,  our  reward  will 
be  enduring  peace  and  happiness 

The  Power  of  Desire 

17.  All  desire  comes  to  an  end  in  a man 
when  he  gains  self-control  by  discriminating 
between  what  is  wise  and  what  is  useless  ; but 
desire  gradually  becomes  more  and  more 
violent  when  one  has  got  into  contact  with  the 
panoply  of  royalty — in  consequence  of  this 
even  the  mighty  Indra  himself,  the  lord  of 
the  winds,  is  a prey  to  desire;  for  he  is 
wretched  because  of  the  desire  he  feds  for 
his  position  as  a royal  personage,  a position 
that  age  has  made  null  and  void. 

18.  A miserable,  tailless  dog,  worn  out, 
lame,  deaf,  covered  with  sores,  perishing 
from  hunger,  and  with  a fragment  of  a 
broken  pot  tied  round  his  neck,  still  pursues 
his  mate.  Even  that  which  is  already  dead 
is  destroyed  by  love. 

19.  A man  may  get  his  food  by  begging, 
and  the  tasteless  scraps  he  receives  may  be 
sufficient  for  only  one  meal ; his  bed  may  be 
the  cold,  hard  ground  : he  may  have  no  one 


THE  VAIRAGYA  SATAKA  97 

to  attend  to  him  but  himself,  and  age  may 
have  worn  his  clothes  away  to  rags  which 
are  ready  to  fall  to  pieces.  Alas  ! even  then 
objects  of  the  senses  retain  their  hold  on 
him. 

20.  The  beautiful  features  of  a woman  are 
praised  by  the  poets — her  breasts  are  com- 
pared to  pots  of  gold  : her  face  to  the 
shining  moon,  and  her  hips  to  the  forehead 
of  an  elephant : nevertheless  the  beauty  of 
a woman  merits  no  praise. 

21.  Ignorance  will  lead  the  moth  to  fly 
into  the  flame  of  the  candle,  and  the  fish  may 
nibble  at  a piece  of  meat  fastened  to  a hook 
without  being  aware  of  the  bait  prepared  for 
them ; but  we  men  who  know  thoroughly  the 
many  traps  and  snares  that  fortune  has  set 
for  us  nevertheless  refuse  to  give  up  our 
desires.  Ah,  in  what  a forest  of  error  do  we 
wander ! 

22.  The  fibre  of  the  lotus  is  sufficient  food 
for  us.  We  want  nothing  to  drink  but  water. 
We  may  lie  on  the  bare  ground,  and  we  may 
be  clothed  in  the  meanest  of  garments.  I do 
not  approve  of  the  wicked  behaviour  of  evil 
men  whose  senses  are  led  astray  by  the  lust 
of  gold. 


G 


98 


THE  SATAKAS 


23.  In  former  times  the  created  world  was 
ruled  by  wise  men,  and  afterwards  by  others. 
It  was  thrown  aside  like  a bundle  of  straw 
after  they  had  conquered  it,  and  even  now 
heroes  rule  the  fourteen  divisions  of  the 
world.1  To  what,  then,  can  we  ascribe  the 
frenzied  desire  that  some  men  possess  for  a 
few  cities  ? 

24.  You  are  a king,  and  I belong  to  the 
band  of  spiritual  teachers  whom  the  world 
honours  for  their  wisdom.  Your  riches  are 
celebrated,  and  my  renown  is  celebrated  by 
the  poets.  So  then,  O bestower  of  blessings, 
there  is  no  very  great  interval  between  us. 
Thou  hast  turned  thy  face  away  from  me, 
and  nevertheless  I desire  not  thy  favour. 

25.  Innumerable  rulers  have  quarrelled 
with  one  another,  and  still  continue  to 
quarrel,  for  the  possession  of  worldly  enjoy- 
ments, and  kings  still  retain  a feeling  of 
pride  for  their  dominions.  The  foolishness 
of  those  who  own  the  earth  leads  them 
to  manifest  unmistakable  delight  in  the 
acquirement  of  the  most  minute  particle, 
while  they  ought,  on  the  contrary,  to  exhibit 
the  most  profound  sorrow. 

1 That  is,  the  entire  earth. 


THE  VAIRAGYA  SATAKA  99 

26.  What  is  the  earth  but  a lump  of  clay 
surrounded  by  the  vast  ocean  ? Kings  have 
conquered  it  in  battle  after  battle,  and  have 
divided  it  among  themselves.  These  evil, 
contemptible  men  may  or  may  not  show 
themselves  generous — neither  characteristic 
on  their  part  need  surprise  us.  But  shame 
on  those  mean  men  who  would  beg  alms 
from  them. 

27.  I am  no  actor;  I am  no  courtesan;  I 
am  no  singer;  I am  no  clown,  and  I am  not 
a beautiful  woman  : what  then  have  I to  do 
with  the  palaces  of  kings  ? 

28.  At  one  time  men  availed  themselves  of 
wisdom  to  obtain  relief  for  earthly  pains  and 
troubles,  and  afterwards  they  used  wisdom 
as  a means  for  the  attainment  of  pleasure. 
But  now,  alas,  it  is  clear  that  men  care 
nothing  for  the  sacred  learning,  and  therefore 
every  day  that  passes  sees  them  further 
estranged  from  it. 

29.  That  man  alone  is  born  truly  great 
whose  white  skull  exalted  on  high  is  worn 
as  an  ornament  by  Siva,  the  enemy  of  Kama. 
The  only  true  honours  being  those  conferred 
by  Siva,  what  can  be  the  meaning  of  this 
pride  and  magnificence  now  displayed  by 


IOO 


THE  SATAKAS 


kings  who  are  so  greatly  worshipped  by  other 
men,  and  think  only  of  their  own  royal  lives  ? 

30.  Thou  art  the  king  of  wealth,  and  I of 
speech  : thou  art  a hero  in  war,  while  my 
talents  are  seen  by  the  manner  in  which  I 
can  conquer  the  haughty  and  arrogant  by  the 
power  of  my  eloquence ; men  bow  down  to 
thee,  but  they  come  and  hearken  unto  my 
words  that  their  minds  may  become  purified. 
And  if  thou,  O king,  hast  no  desire  for  me, 
my  desire  for  thee  is  still  less. 

31.  When  the  knowledge  I possessed 
amounted  to  but  little,  I was  puffed  up  with 
pride  like  an  elephant  blinded  by  passion,  and 
I thought  there  was  nothing  I did  not  know. 
But  when  I learned  many  things  from  the 
sages,  my  foolishness  became  evident  to  me, 
and  I was  freed  from  my  mad  excitement. 
[Cf.  Niti  Sataka,  aphorism  No.  8.] 

Indifference 

32.  Time  is  passed  by,  whiled  away  with- 
out difficulty  in  the  agreeable  society  of 
beautiful  women ; our  long  wanderings  in 
incarnation  after  incarnation  have  fatigued 
us  and  worn  us  out.  We  repose  on  the  banks 


THE  VAIRAGYA  SATAKA  ioi 

of  Siva’s  river,  and  call  to  him  with  frenzied 
cries,  “ Siva  ! Siva  ! Siva  ! ” 

33.  When  our  honour  has  departed  and 
our  wealth  is  lost ; when  our  desires  have  left 
us  and  we  have  profited  nothing  by  them ; 
when  our  relatives  are  dead  and  our  friends 
vanished  away,  and  when  our  youth  has 
slipped  from  us  bit  by  bit  : there  is  then  only 
one  thing  left  for  a wise  man — -a  mountain 
cave  where  he  can  dwell  in  peace  and  quiet, 
a cave  whose  rocks  are  purified  by  the 
waters  of  the  Ganges. 

34.  Why,  O my  heart,  dost  thou  try  from 
day  to  day  to  secure  the  good  graces  of  others, 
and  yet  all  in  vain  ? If  thou  wert  only 
purified,  surely  all  thy  desires  would  be 
gratified,  and  thou  wouldst  not  seek  the 
favours  of  other  men,  since  inwardly  thou 
wouldst  be  at  rest. 

35.  In  our  periods  of  health  we  are 
alarmed  by  the  fear  of  disease ; in  the  pride 
we  take  in  our  family  by  the  fear  of  a sudden 
fall ; in  wealth  by  the  fear  of  a grasping 
ruler ; in  honour,  by  the  fear  of  degradation  ; 
in  power  by  the  fear  of  enemies ; in  beauty 
by  the  fear  of  old  age ; in  our  knowledge  of 
the  Scriptures  by  the  fear  of  controversy ; in 


102 


THE  SATAKAS 


virtue  by  the  fear  of  evil;  and  in  our  body 
by  the  fear  of  death.  Everything  on  earth 
gives  cause  for  fear,  and  the  only  freedom 
from  fear  is  to  be  found  in  the  renunciation 
of  all  desire. 

36.  These  lives  of  ours  are  as  unstable  as 
the  drop  of  water  on  the  lotus  leaf,  and  yet 
what  do  we  not  strive  to  do  for  their  sake? 
We  sin  even  when  we  are  brazenly  boast- 
ing of  our  own  virtues  in  the  presence  of 
those  wealthy  men  whose  minds  have  become 
petrified  by  the  intoxicating  power  of  riches. 

37.  All  hail  to  the  power  of  Time  ! The 
pleasures  of  the  town,  the  glories  of  the 
monarch  with  his  crowds  of  courtiers,  his 
ministers  who  stand  respectfully  before  him, 
his  women  with  faces  as  beautiful  as  the 
shining  moon,  the  crowds  of  haughty  noble- 
men, the  poets  and  the  writers — all  these 
are  carried  away  on  the  stream  of  time  and 
eventually  become  but  a memory. 

38.  The  previous  generations  who  gave  us 
birth  have  long  since  passed  away,  and  even 
those  with  whom  we  grew  up  exist  now  only 
as  a memory,  while  by  the  approach  of  death 
we  ourselves  are  become  like  trees  growing 
on  the  sandy  bank  of  a river. 


THE  VAIRAGYA  SATAKA  103 


39.  In  the  dwelling  where  there  were  once 
many  there  is  now  only  one  , where  there  was 
only  one  there  were  afterwards  many,  and 
then  again  but  one.  In  such  a way  are  day 
and  night  dashed  hither  and  thither  by  Kala 
and  Kali,1  as  if  they  were  pieces  of  dice,  and 
thus  too  do  Kala  and  Kali  play  with  men  on 
the  chess-board  of  this  world  as  if  they  were 
chessmen. 

40.  Shall  we  abandon  the  world,  dwell 
beside  the  divine  river,  and  lead  a life  of 
penance  ? Or  shall  we  rather  seek  the 
society  of  virtuous  women  ? Or  shall  we 
study  the  multitudinous  Scriptures,  the 
poetry  of  which  is  even  as  nectar ? We 
cannot  tell  what  we  shall  do,  for  the  life  of  a 
man  endures  but  the  twinkling  of  an  eye. 

41.  Men,  to  their  disgrace,  are  now  living 
on  the  sustenance  they  have  obtained  from 
others.  What  then  has  happened  ? Are 
there  no  longer  retreats  among  the  Hima- 
layas where  the  vidyadharas  live  among  the 
imperishable  rocks  cooled  by  the  spray  from 
the  water  of  the  Ganges  ? 

42.  When  shall  we  lie  at  rest  on  the 

1 The  male  and  female  incarnations  of  the  destructive 
principle. 


104 


THE  SATAKAS 


margin  of  the  divine  river  whose  banks  of 
sand  shine  with  a dazzling  whiteness  under 
the  light  of  the  moon  ? And  when  shall  we, 
when  the  nights  are  calm  and  still,  satiated 
with  the  world,  utter  cries  of  “ Siva  ! Siva  ! 
Siva  ! ’ ’ while  the  tears  flow  from  our  eyes  ? 

43.  Mahadeva  is  the  god  we  worship,  and 
this  river  is  the  divine  river ; those  caves  are 
the  abode  of  Hari.  Kala  too  is  our  friend, 
and  the  rules  of  life  which  we  follow  bring 
us  freedom  from  humiliation . So  what  more 
need  I say  on  this  point  ? 

44.  The  same  as  aphorism  No.  10  of  the 
Niti  Sataka. 

45.  Desire  resembles  a river;  its  waters 
are  like  men’s  wishes,  blown  hither  and 
thither  by  the  waves  of  passion . Love  takes 
the  place  of  the  crocodiles,  and  the  birds  that 
soar  over  the  surface  of  the  stream  are  like 
the  doubts  that  beset  men’s  minds.  The 
tree  of  firmness  that  grows  on  the  bank  is 
carried  away  by  the  flood ; the  whirlpools  of 
error  are  difficult  to  navigate,  and  the  steep 
banks  of  the  river  are  like  unto  the  troubles 
of  our  life.  Thus  ascetics  who,  with  puri- 
fied hearts,  have  succeeded  in  crossing  the 
river  are  possessed  with  unbounded  joy. 


THE  VAIRAGYA  SATAKA  105 

46.  When  we  look  upon  the  ceaseless 
changing  of  the  three  worlds,  the  passion 
concealed  within  us,  violently  attracted  by 
the  objects  of  the  senses,  ceases  to  cross  the 
horizon  of  our  eyes  or  to  enter  into  the  radius 
of  our  ears ; for  we  have  crushed  down  the 
objects  of  the  senses  that  bring  about  desire 
in  us,  and  we  now  have  them,  so  to  speak, 
bound  down  by  devotion,  even  as  the  ele- 
phant, attracted  by  his  mate,  is  kept  from 
her  by  being  tethered  to  a post. 

47.  Once  upon  a time  the  days  seemed 
long  to  me  when  my  heart  was  sorely 
wounded  through  asking  favours  from  the 
rich,  and  yet  again  the  days  seemed  all  too 
short  for  me  when  I sought  to  carry  out  all 
my  worldly  desires  and  ends.  But  now  as  a 
philosopher  I sit  on  a hard  stone  in  a cave 
on  the  mountain-side,  and  time  and  again  in 
the  course  of  my  meditations  I often  laugh 
when  I think  of  my  former  life. 

48.  We  have  not  acquired  stainless 
wisdom ; we  have  not  obtained  wealth ; we 
have  not  treated  our  elders  with  the  respect 
due  to  them,  and  we  have  not  even  dreamed 
of  love.  If  we  have  lived  a life  of  this  kind, 
then  our  existence  has  been  like  that  of  the 


106  THE  SATAKAS 

crow,  which  looks  greedily  on  the  food  of 
others. 

49.  Let  all  our  wealth  depart  from  us,  and 
then  with  tender  hearts  and  recollecting  how 
activity  in  the  world  leads  to  deeds  of  evil, 
we  shall  sit  in  some  sacred  grove  with  the 
calm  rays  of  the  autumn  moon  shining  upon 
us,  and  there  pass  our  nights  at  the  foot  of 
Siva,  occupied  only  in  meditation. 

50.  I am  satisfied  with  the  meanest  of 
cloth ; thou  delightest  in  thy  splendour,  and 
yet  my  contentment  is  equal  to  yours.  Poor 
indeed  is  the  man  whose  desires  are  bound- 
less, but  who  that  is  satisfied  with  what  he 
possesses  can  be  called  either  rich  or  poor? 

51.  Freedom  from  toil  whenever  we  feel 
inclined  to  be  free  from  it ; food  obtained 
without  a stain  on  our  honour ; friendship 
with  men  of  noble  spirits,  and  a mind  un- 
disturbed by  contact  with  the  outside  world  - 
— all  these  things  result  from  the  noblest 
vow  of  tranquillity.  Although  I have  given 
careful  thought  to  this  matter,  I know  not 
by  what  strict  penance  this  perfect  state  may 
be  reached. 

52.  Their  hand  serves  them  as  a cup; 
their  food  is  obtained  by  begging ; the  pure 


THE  VAIRAGYA  SATAKA  107 

expanse  of  the  heavens  serves  them  for 
a garment,  and  the  earth  is  their  couch. 
Those  who  are  no  longer  attracted  by  the 
objects  of  the  senses  are  fortunate  if  they 
have  reached  this  stage  of  perfection.  Con- 
tent in  their  own  minds,  they  cast  away  all 
action,  casting  away  at  the  same  time  all 
the  innumerable  forms  of  pain  which  are 
inseparable  from  action. 

53.  Masters  are  hard  to  please ; the  whims 
of  kings  change  from  one  thing  to  another 
with  the  swiftness  of  rapid  horses ; our 
desires  are  violent,  and  in  our  minds  we  aim 
high.  But  old  age  withers  our  bodies,  and 
death  puts  an  end  to  our  existence.  O my 
friends,  for  a wise  man  there  can  be  no  glory 
in  this  world  but  that  which  he  gains  from 
penance. 

54.  Amorous  passion  is  like  a flash  of 
lightning  in  the  cloud.  Life  itself  is  like 
the  clouds  which  are  torn  in  pieces  by  the 
storm,  and  the  ardent  desires  of  young  men 
soon  pass  away.  O wise  men,  ye  who  know 
how  uncertain  are  human  affairs,  gain  wis- 
dom by  meditating  on  the  Supreme  Being, 
for  perfection  soon  results  from  continual 
contemplation. 


108  THE  SATAKAS 

55.  A hungry  man  who  is  gifted  with 
understanding  will  go  from  door  to  door 
through  a sacred  village,  and  will  beg  for 
alms  where  he  sees  the  door-post  blackened 
by  the  smoke  of  the  sacrifices  offered  up  by 
the  priests  who  dwell  there.  He  will  bear 
before  him  his  pot  covered  with  white  cloth, 
and  he  will  not  live  in  misery  from  day  to 
day  among  families  as  wretched  as  himself. 

56.  “Are  you  a chandal  ? Are  you  a 
Brahmin  ? Are  you  a Sudra  or  an  ascetic  ? 
Or  a lord  of  devotion  whose  mind  has  been 
developed  by  meditating  on  the  truth?” 
Ascetics,  when  loud-voiced  men  ask  them 
questions  like  these  experience  neither 
pleasure  nor  irritation,  but  quietly  pursue 
their  way. 

57.  O my  friend,  fortunate  indeed  are 
they  who  have  freed  themselves  from  the 
shackles  of  this  world,  and  from  whose 
minds  all  desire  for  early  objects,  like 
the  poison  of  a serpent,  has  passed  away. 
People  like  these  spend  the  night  illumined 
by  the  clear  rays  of  the  autumn  moon  on  the 
borders  of  the  forest,  thinking  of  nothing 
but  their  own  good  fortune. 

58.  Wander  no  longer  with  weary  foot- 


THE  VAIRAGYA  SATAKA  109 

steps  in  the  thickets  of  the  senses.  Rather 
find  out  that  better  way,  which  in  a single 
instant  will  bring  thee  freedom  from  all 
trouble.  Join  thyself  to  the  Supreme  Being 
and  abandon  thy  own  state,  which  is  as 
unstable  as  the  waves  of  the  sea.  Take 
pleasure  no  more  in  transient  earthly  things. 
O my  heart,  be  calm  ! 

59.  O my  friend,  nourish  thyself  on  fruits 
and  nuts  and  lie  on  the  bare  ground  : let  ns 
arise  and  enter  the  forest  clothed  in  new  soft 
garments  made  from  the  bark  of  trees. 
There  in  that  retreat  we  shall  no  longer  hear 
the  voices  of  those  rich  men  whose  minds  are 
dulled  with  ignorance  and  whose  very  voices 
are  troubled  and  unsteady  as  the  result  of  the 
confusion  of  their  minds. 

60.  O my  friend,  let  the  delusion  with 
which  thou  wert  beset  be  cleared  away ; pay 
thy  devotions  to  the  god  of  the  moon-crest, 
who  frees  man  from  delusions.  Let  thy 
thought  be  fixed  on  the  stream  of  the 
heavenly  river;  for  what  certainty  is  there 
in  things  earthly,  in  waves  and  bubbles  or 
in  the  flashes  of  lightning  or  in  women  or  in 
the  tongues  of  flame  or  in  serpents  or  in  the 
onrushing  waters  of  the  stream  ? 


no 


THE  SATAKAS 


61.  If  there  are  songs  in  front  of  you, 
skilful  poets  from  the  south  on  one  side  of 
you  and  dancing  girls  with  tinkling  ankles 
and  pearls  behind  you ; then,  my  friend, 
enjoy  the  pleasures  of  the  senses  which  these 
things  may  afford  you.  But  O my  mind,  if 
you  have  not  these  things,  then  plunge  into 
devout  meditation,  freeing  thyself  from  all 
thought. 

62.  O sages,  pay  no  attention  to  women 
who  are  only  pleasing  on  account  of  their 
beauty,  and  delight  in  whose  society  is  but 
transitory.  Seek  rather  the  company  of 
women  who  are  merciful,  agreeable  and 
intelligent,  for  the  beautiful  forms  of  women 
ornamented  with  tinkling  jewels  will  not 
profit  you  in  Naraka. 

63.  This  aphorism  is  identical  with  No. 
26  of  the  Niti  Sataka. 

64.  O our  Mother  Lakshmi,  vouchsafe 
that  I may  not  be  filled  with  longing  or  the 
desire  for  pleasure  ! Now  having  purified 
myself  with  the  vessel  of  leaves  joined 
together,  let  me  maintain  my  life  by  means 
of  the  barleycorn  that  I have  received  as 
alms. 

65.  Gjce  upon  a time  you  resembled  me 


THE  V AIR  AG  Y A SATAKA  hi 


in  all  things,  as  I did  you.  But  our  feel- 
ings towards  one  another  have  altered  : 
how  has  it  now  come  about  that  we  have 
changed  ? 

66.  O woman,  why  dost  thou  dart 
beautiful  glances  at  me  from  thy  half- 
opened  eyes  ? Stop  ! stop  ! Thy  labour  is 
in  vain  ! I am  no  longer  what  I was ; my 
youth  has  left  me  : I live  in  a forest,  and 
am  no  longer  infatuated.  To  me  now  the 
pleasures  of  this  world  are  but  as  grass. 
[Cf.  Sringa  Sataka,  aphorism  No.  93.] 

67.  The  eyes  of  this  woman  have  stolen 
the  beauty  of  the  lotus,  and  with  them  she 
continually  glances  in  my  direction.  What 
can  she  want  ? My  love  has  left  me,  and  I 
no  longer  feel  the  pangs  of  the  cruel  passion 
that  leads  to  warm  blood  and  fever.  [C/. 
Sringa  Sataka,  aphorism  No.  94.] 

68.  Is  it  not  agreeable  to  dwell  in  a 
palace;  is  it  not  pleasant  to  listen  to  songs, 
and  is  not  the  company  of  friends  whom  we 
love,  as  much  as  we  love  ourselves,  delight- 
ful ? Wise  men  nevertheless  withdraw  from 
all  these  things,  and  take  refuge  in  the 
forest,  looking  upon  them  as  the  light  of  a 
lamp  that  burns  with  a flickering  flame 


112 


THE  SATAKAS 


through  the  draught  caused  by  the  wings  of 
a wandering  moth. 

69.  Why  do  you  throw  aside  your  self- 
respect  and  bow  down  to  haughty  men  who 
have  with  trouble  amassed  a small  fortune 
and  look  upon  you  with  unutterable  con- 
tempt? Are  there  no  more  roots  growing 
in  the  caves  ? Have  the  mountain  torrents 
now  ceased  to  flow  ? Do  the  trees  no  longer 
bear  fruit  or  has  the  bark  out  of  which  you 
can  make  your  clothing  withered  where  it 
grew  ? 

70.  The  same  as  aphorism  No.  41  of  the 
Vairagya  Sataka. 

71.  When  the  end  of  the  present  epoch 
at  length  comes,  and  Meru  the  most  mag- 
nificent of  mountains  falls  from  its  place ; 
when  the  ocean,  the  abode  of  innumerable 
monsters,  is  dried  up,  and  wdien  the  earth 
itself  comes  to  an  end  : where  shall  we  be 
able  to  find  any  home  for  the  body — this 
body  of  ours,  as  unstable  as  a young 
elephant’s  ear? 

72.  O Siva  ! when  shall  I,  whose  drink- 
ing-cup is  my  hand,  whose  solitary  garment 
is  the  sky,  and  wrho  live  a lonely  and  peaceful 
life  free  from  desire  and  action,  when  shall  I 


THE  VAIRAGYA  SATAKA  113 

at  last  attain  to  union  with  the  Supreme 
Spirit  ? 

73.  You  may  have  gained  glory,  and  all 
your  desires  may  have  been  accomplished  : 
what  further?  Your  feet  may  have  been 
placed  on  the  necks  of  your  enemies  : what 
further?  You  may  have  given  all  your 
wealth  away  to  your  friends  : what  further  ? 
You  may  live  thousands  of  years  : what 
further  ? 

74.  You  may  have  been  clothed  in  rags  : 
what  then  ? You  may  have  worn  mag- 
nificent silk  garments  : what  then  ? You 
may  have  had  only  one  wife  : what  then  ? 
You  may  have  had  innumerable  horses, 
elephants,  and  attendants  : what  then  ? You 
may  have  enjoyed  good  food  : what  then  ? 
Or  you  may  have  eaten  wretched  food 
towards  the  end  of  the  day  : what  then  ? 
What  matters  any  one  of  these  states,  if  you 
do  not  know  the  glory  of  the  Supreme  Being 
who  destroys  all  evils  ? 

75.  You  have  worshipped  Siva;  you  have 
lived  in  the  fear  of  death  and  believed  in 
re-birth  in  another  state;  you  have  severed 
yourself  from  the  affection  you  bear  to  your 
own  family;  you  have  not  been  influenced 

H 


Ii4 


fTHE!  SATAKAS 


by  love ; you  bave  lived  in  a forest  far  apart 
from  man,  and  you  have  not  been  soiled  by 
contact  with  the  world.  If  you  have  spent 
your  life  in  this  way,  free  from  all  attach- 
ment to  external  things,  then  you  possess 
Vairagya. 

76.  Give  yourself  up  to  meditation  on  the 
Supreme  Being,  who  is  eternal  and  who 
grows  not  old,  increasing  his  authority  by 
his  own  will.  What  profit  can  be  drawn 
from  the  delusions  of  this  world  ? If  a man 
is  really  bent  upon  being  united  with  the 
Supreme  Spirit,  all  the  power  and  pleasures 
afforded  by  the  earth  seem  to  him  to  be  fitted 
only  for  men  of  narrow  understanding. 

77.  O my  mind,  thou  canst  enter  Patala, 
thou  canst  fly  across  the  heavens  and  the 
earth  in  an  instant  of  thought.  How  does  it 
come  about  that  thou  dost  not  even  accident- 
ally meditate  at  any  time  on  the  Supreme 
Spirit,  stainless,  dwelling  within  himself? 
For  in  this  way  thou  mightest  become 
tranquil. 

78.  We  are  men  lacking  in  intelligence, 
and  we  take  it  for  granted  that  day  and  night 
go  on  indefinitely,  consequently  we  take  up 
our  task  day  by  day,  and  continue  it  where 


THE  VAIRAGYA  SATAKA  *15 

we  left  off.  Alas ! ought  we  not  to  be 
ashamed  of  our  folly?  We  put  up  with  the 
pains  of  this  world,  while  we  are  entirely 
given  over  to  enjoying  the  same  objects  of 
the  senses  over  and  over  again. 

79.  The  wise  man,  glad  in  his  heart 
because  he  has  been  freed  from  desire,  lives 
as  happily  and  peacefully  as  if  he  were  the 
ruler  of  the  universe.  The  earth  to  him  is 
an  agreeable  couch ; the  arms  of  the  creepers 
are  his  pillow ; the  pure  sky  is  his  canopy ; 
the  winds  are  his  fan  and  the  moon  is  his 
glowing  lamp. 

80.  Any  man  who  has  acquired  great 
power  thinks  even  the  overlordship  of  the 
universe  an  insipid  thing.  Seek  not  pleasure 
in  the  enjoyment  arising  from  flattery,  dress 
or  feasting.  The  only  pleasure  which  is 
supreme  is  eternal  and  continually  increas- 
ing. That  is  the  pleasure  which  you  should 
endeavour  to  secure,  for  compared  with  its 
sweetness  there  is  no  pleasure  in  all  the 
three  worlds. 

81.  What  profit  can  be  drawn  from  the 
vedas  or  the  smriti  1 or  from  the  reading  of 
the  puranas  or  the  tiresome  shastras  or  even 

1 That  which  has  been  handed  down  by  tradition! 


n6 


THE  SATAKAS 


in  the  innumerable  and  bewildering  multi- 
tude of  ceremonial  actions  that  lead  to  a 
resting-place  in  the  heavenly  tabernacles  ? 
In  comparison  with  that  final  fire  which  is 
to  consume  the  creations  of  this  wearying 
burden  of  sorrow  which  we  know  as  existence 
— the  fire  that  will  in  the  end  unite  us  with 
the  Supreme  Spirit — all  else  is  but  the  mere 
bargaining  of  merchants. 

82.  Life  is  uncertain  as  the  waves  of  the 
sea ; the  glory  that  envelopes  our  youth 
remains  with  us  for  a short  time  : wealth 
passes  away  like  a flash  of  thought  : all  the 
pleasure  the  world  can  afford  endures  no 
longer  than  a gleam  of  lightning  in  the 
heavens.  The  ardent  passion  of  the  mistress 
you  clasp  in  your  arms  will  last  but  a short 
time.  Give  all  your  thoughts,  therefore,  to 
the  Supreme  Spirit;  for  you  too  must  navi- 
gate the  sea  of  life  with  all  its  fears  and 
dangers. 

83.  Why  should  the  wise  man  be  anxious 
over  a small  portion  of  this  world  ? Is  the 
mighty  sea  ever  agitated  by  the  movements 
of  the  little  fish  ? 

84.  When  the  blinding  effects  of  love  had 
filled  me  with  ignorance  the  world  seemed  to 


THE  VAIRAGYA  SATAKA  117 

contain  nothing  for  me  but  women.  But  now 
since  my  eyes  have  been  anointed  with  the 
oil  of  discrimination,  I can  see  all  things 
clearly,  and  I look  like  the  creator  upon  the 
three  worlds. 

85.  Delightful  indeed  are  the  rays  of  the 
moon,  delightful  the  grassy  corners  of  the 
forest,  delightful  the  company  of  friends 
whom  we  love,  delightful  too  the  writings  of 
the  poets  and  delightful  the  face  of  our  loved 
one  when  shining  through  the  tear-drops  of 
rage.  But  when  we  allow  ourselves  to  reflect 
on  the  uncertainty  of  these  delights,  who 
can  care  any  more  for  them  ? 

86.  An  ascetic  is  one  who  lives  by  begging, 
far  away  from  the  busy  haunts  of  men.  He 
is  self-controlled  and  walks  in  the  path  of 
indifference.  It  makes  no  difference  to  him 
whether  he  receives  or  does  not  receive, 
whether  he  gives  or  does  not  give.  His  only 
garment  is  a torn  cloak  made  up  of  rags  cast 
away  by  other  men.  He  has  no  pride  and 
no  self-consciousness  : he  is  untroubled  by 
desire  and  his  only  pleasure  is  rest  and 
quietness. 

87.  O the  Earth,  my  mother!  O the 
Wind,  my  father ! O Fire,  my  friend  ! O 


n8 


THE  SATAKAS 


Water,  my  wife  ! O Sky,  my  brother ! I 
hail  yon  all  with  my  hands  clasped.  I am 
enveloped  in  glory  through  the  merit  I have 
acquired  by  my  union  with  you.  O,  may  I 
become  part  of  the  Supreme  Spirit ! 

88.  So  long  as  the  temple  of  the  body  is 
well  and  strong ; so  long  as  old  age  is  still 
far  in  the  distance ; so  long  as  the  senses 
remain  unimpaired,  and  so  long  as  there  is 
no  diminution  of  life  : precisely  so  long  must 
the  wise  man  make  every  effort  to  enter  into 
eternal  glory.  What  does  it  avail  to  dig  a 
well  when  the  house  is  on  fire  ? 

89.  Alas,  our  youth  has  passed  away  from 
us  unprofitably  like  a lamp  set  alight  in  an 
empty  house.  The  knowledge  which  puts  an 
end  to  the  quarrels  of  disputants  and  which 
it  is  desirable  for  the  thoroughly  cultured 
man  to  have,  has  not  been  studied  by  us 
during  the  period  we  have  spent  on  earth ; 
our  fame  has  not  been  exalted  to  the  heavens 
by  the  sword-point  that  splits  even  the  hard 
brow  of  the  elephant,  and  we  have  not  tasted 
the  nectar  on  the  lowTer  lip  of  the  soft  mouth 
of  our  beloved  one  at  the  time  of  the  rising 
of  the  moon. 

90.  In  good  men  knowledge  casts  out 


THE  VAIRAGYA  SATAKA  £19 


pride,  but  in  others  it  leads  to  arrogance. 
In  the  same  way  a lonely  dwelling  enables 
ascetics  to  become  freed  from  all  attraction 
to  the  objects  of  the  senses,  but  it  leads  to 
violent  desire  in  those  for  whom  it  is 
unsuitable. 

91.  Our  passions  have  gradually  become 
weaker  and  weaker  : our  youth  has  turned 
into  old  age,  and  even  the  virtues  in  our 
own  bodies  have  withered  away  because 
they  are  no  longer  recognised  to  be  virtues. 
What  remains  for  us  to  do?  Omnipotent 
time  is  hastening  on,  and  death  is  approach- 
ing to  put  an  end  to  our  lives.  What  is  there 
for  us  but  to  throw  ourselves  at  the  feet  of 
Siva?  Other  means  of  salvation  there  are 
none. 

92.  When  a man’s  lips  are  parched  he 
drinks  water  and  finds  it  sweet  to  the  taste. 
When  hunger  comes  upon  him  he  eats  rice 
and  vegetables.  But  he  is  in  error  if  he 
thinks  that  the  removal  of  the  pain  caused 
by  hunger  and  thirst  is  a pleasure. 

93.  I will  immerse  my  body,  O Lord,  in 
the  waters  of  the  Ganges ; I will  sacrifice  to 
thee  with  unblemished  fruits  and  flowers. 
I will  meditate  upon  thee  : I will  sit  on  a rock 


120 


THE  SATAKAS 


in  a mountain  cave  and  nourish  myself  on 
fruits  with  a quiet  mind.  I will  revere  the 
voice  of  my  spiritual  father.  And  when,  O 
enemy  of  love,  when  lying  at  thy  feet,  shall 
I be  freed  from  the  pain  of  desire,  and  able 
to  walk  alone  on  the  path  of  meditation  ? 

94.  Whom  may  we  rightly  call  the  over- 
lords  of  the  earth  : those  who  pay  homage 
to  any  man  ? Those  who  are  content  to  lie 
on  a hard  rock ; who  live  in  caves ; who  make 
their  clothes  from  the  bark  of  trees ; whose 
only  companions  are  the  antelopes;  whose 
food  is  the  tender  fruit ; whose  drink  is  water 
from  the  mountain  stream  and  whose  wife  is 
wisdom. 

95.  Consider  women  as  they  sit  showing 
every  sign  of  extreme  misery  and  of  the  pain 
resulting  from  the  fever  of  distress.  But 
what  wise  man  would  look  at  women  in  this 
condition,  unless  he  felt  merciful  towards 
his  unhappy  family,  so  long  as  the  Ganges 
was  near  at  hand,  the  holy  river  from  whose 
gleaming  surface  the  sun’s  rays  kiss  the 
head  of  Siva,  the  river  that  furnishes  us 
with  food  and  drink,  and  with  clothing  made 
from  the  bark  of  the  banyan-trees  growing 
on  its  banks. 


THE  VAIRAGYA  SATAKA  121 


96.  Alas,  to  what  other  towns  can  the 
sages  resort  if  they  leave  Benares  ? For 
in  the  beautiful  gardens  of  Benares  the 
pleasures  are  innumerable,  and  penances  of 
great  difficulty  are  practised;  a little  torn 
piece  of  cloth  is  considered  as  a magnificent 
garment  and  there  is  no  limit  to  the  quantity 
of  food  that  may  be  obtained  by  begging  : 
even  death  itself  in  that  place  is  like  a 
festival. 

97.  “ Our  master  sleeps;  this  is  the  hour 
when  he  takes  his  rest  and  you  must  not 
enter,  for  if  he  awakened  and  saw  you  he 
would  be  angry.”  Thus  speak  the  keepers 
of  the  palace  gates.  But  pass  by  them,  and 
enter  the  temple  of  that  master  who  rules 
the  whole  universe — that  shrine  that  affords 
us  boundless  blessing,  full  of  love  and 
mercy,  and  where  the  coarse  speech  of  the 
gate-keepers  cannot  be  heard. 

98.  O my  friend,  relentless  fate,  like  an 
omnipotent  potter,  puts  the  mind  of  man  on 
the  wheel  of  care  as  if  it  were  a lump  of  clay, 
and  makes  it  revolve — that  wheel  of  care 
which  moves  ceaselessly  amid  all  the  innu- 
merable evils  of  existence,  inflicting  itself 
upon  men  as  if  it  were  a scourge. 


122 


THE  SATAKAS 


99.  I can  see  no  difference  between  Siva 
the  master  of  the  world  and  the  slayer  of 
Janu,  and  Vishnu  the  soul  of  the  entire 
universe,  consequently  I worship  the  deity 
with  the  moon-crest. 

100.  I am  well  content  with  that  divine 
voice  which  utters  over  my  mind  words  that 
are  sweeter  than  nectar  and  richer  that  ghee.1 
I am  satisfied  also  with  alms  and  clothing 
from  the  bark  of  trees,  and  I care  nothing 
for  wealth  gained  by  becoming  a slave  to 
objects  of  the  senses. 

1 01.  The  ascetic  may  be  clothed  in  ragged 
garments ; he  may  beg  his  food ; he  may 
make  his  bed  in  the  corner  of  a cemetery ; he 
may  no  longer  care  for  friend  or  foe ; his 
dwelling  may  be  lonely ; but  in  spite  of  all 
these  things  he  nevertheless  lives  in  peace, 
rejoicing  because  all  the  intoxication  result- 
ing from  pride  has  disappeared. 

102.  The  various  pleasures  which  may 
be  met  with  in  this  world  are  every  one 
ephemeral,  so  why  then,  O men,  do  you 
winder  hither  and  thither,  taking  such 
trouble  to  pursue  them  ? Let  your  soul  free 

1 Sweet  clarified  butter — the  word  is  well  known  to 
readers  of  Pilpay. 


THE  VAIRAGYA  SATAKA  123 

itself  from  the  innumerable  shackles  of 
desire,  and  enter  into  the  dwelling  of  peace 
which  shall  be  its  portion  if  you  believe  what 
I say  unto  you. 

103.  Blessed  are  they  that  live  in  a moun- 
tain cave  and  meditate  on  the  glory  of  the 
Supreme  Spirit.  Th'e  birds  of  the  air  will 
come  and  perch  fearlessly  on  their  hands, 
and  drink  the  tears  of  joy  that  flow  from 
their  eyes.  As  for  us,  however,  our  life 
quickly  slips  away  while  we  are  enjoying 
ourselves  in  the  woods  or  by  the  river  banks 
and  devoting  ourselves  to  the  pleasures  of 
this  world. 

104.  Every  living  thing  on  earth  is 
destined  to  perish.  Youth  passes  into  old 
age ; happiness  is  destroyed  by  greed ; peace 
of  mind  by  glances  shot  from  the  eyes  of 
beautiful  women.  Just  men  are  slandered 
by  the  envious ; serpents  infest  the  forest, 
and  kings  themselves  come  to  grief  through 
their  evil  advisers.  Not  even  the  divine 
virtues  themselves  are  permanent,  so  that 
everything  in  the  world  undergoes  loss  or 
damage  in  some  form. 

105.  The  health  of  men  suffers  through 
sickness,  and  when  fortune  has  once  left  us, 


124 


THE  SATAKAS 


we  are  overwhelmed  by  distresses  which 
come  in  upon  us  as  through  an  open  door. 
Death  indeed  rules  all  things,  for  fate  has 
decreed  that  nothing  shall  be  permanent. 

106.  Alas  ! when  everything  is  brought 
into  the  reckoning,  what  pleasure  can  be 
found  in  this  world  ? Men  have  suffered 
pain  in  the  narrow  womb  of  their  mother, 
and  youth,  when  we  have  to  separate  from 
our  beloved,  is  full  of  grief,  while  old  age, 
since  it  exposes  men  to  the  contempt  of 
women,  is  a thing  of  evil. 

107.  The  full  span  of  man’s  life  is  a 
hundred  years  : half  is  spent  in  night,  and 
of  the  rest  half  is  spent  in  childhood  and  old 
age.  Labour,  grief,  separation  and  illness 
take  up  all  that  is  left  of  us.  What  pleasure, 
then,  can  we  find  in  the  life  of  man,  which  is 
as  unstable  as  the  bubbles  on  the  stream  ? 

108.  Men  of  pure  minds,  who  are  able  to 
distinguish  between  the  true  and  the  false, 
are  able  to  carry  out  difficult  tasks  by  their 
communion  with  the  Supreme  Spirit,  for 
they  are  able  to  cast  away  from  them  entirely 
the  source  of  all  pleasure,  viz.  worldly 
wealth.  Where  we  are  concerned,  neither 
that  which  we  formerly  possessed  nor  that 


THE  VAIRAGYA  SATAKA  125 

which  we  have  now  really  lies  within  our 
power.  What  we  find  it  difficult  to  abandon 
is  that  which  we  only  wish  for  in  our  minds . 

109.  Old  age  threatens  our  body  like  a 
tiger,  and  sickness  finally  carries  it  off. 
Eife  ebbs  away  like  water  from  a cracked 
jar,  and  nevertheless  man  is  able  to  lead  a 
wicked  existence  in  this  world.  And  this  is 
indeed  wonderful. 

no.  The  Creator  makes  a man  a jewel, 
a man  of  virtue,  an  ornament  to  the  whole 
earth — and  then  in  a single  instant  he 
destroys  him.  Alas  ! what  a lack  of  knowl- 
edge the  Creator  displays  ! 

in.  What  innumerable  evils  are  attached 
to  old  age ! The  body  becomes  bent  with 
years  ; the  steps  grow  more  and  more  hesitat- 
ing ; the  teeth  fall  out ; the  eyes  become  dim ; 
deafness  is  more  and  more  evident;  saliva 
dribbles  from  the  mouth ; servants  no  longer 
obey  orders ; one’s  wife  is  not  submissive, 
and  even  one’s  son  becomes  an  enemy. 

1 12.  For  a single  instant  one  is  a child,  and 
for  a single  instant  again  one  is  a passionate 
youth.  At  one  moment  wealth  lies  about  us 
in  abundance,  and  the  next  it  is  no  longer  to 
be  seen.  A man  reaches  the  end  of  his  span 


126 


THE  SATAKAS 


of  life,  and  then  with  his  limbs  worn  out  by 
old  age  and  covered  with  wrinkles,  he  enters 
the  abode  of  death  as  an  actor  at  the  close 
of  the  play  makes  his  exit  behind  the  curtain . 

1 13.  It  matters  not  whether  a man  wears 
a snake  or  a string  of  pearls ; whether  he 
is  in  the  company  of  powerful  enemies  or 
powerful  friends  ; whether  he  owns  sparkling 
jewels,  or  is  merely  the  possessor  of  a lump 
of  clay ; whether  he  reposes  on  flowers  or  on 
a stone ; whether  he  is  surrounded  by  fields 
of  grass  or  by  hosts  of  pretty  women  : this 
makes  no  difference  to  him  at  the  time  when, 
as  he  dwells  in  a sacred  grove,  he  calls  upon 
Siva. 

1 14.  What  man  finds  the  world  filled  with 
delight  ? Only  he  who  has  his  passions 
under  control,  who  is  calm  and  content,  and 
whose  mind  is  never  thrown  off  its  balance. 

1 15.  Our  final  emancipation  from  the 
world  is  drawing  near  in  the  form  of  death, 
but  yet  we  give  no  thought  to  it.  We  have 
lived  through  different  stages  of  our  life 
and  have  experienced  calamity,  happiness, 
adversity  and  dangers — what  more  can  we 
add  ? Alas  ! what  injuries  have  we  not  done 
ourselves  over  and  over  again. 


THE  VAIRAGYA  SATAKA  127 

1 16.  The  belly  is  as  a pot  which  it  is 
difficult  to  fill  : it  withers  a man’s  virtue  as 
the  moon  withers  the  lotus  beds.  It  is  like 
unto  the  thief  who  steals  a purse ; yea,  it  is 
even  as  a gleaming  axe  that  hacks  at  the 
roots  of  the  tree  of  virtue. 

1 1 7.  Let  us  eat  the  food  we  have  begged; 
let  the  sky  be  our  clothing ; let  the  earth  be 
our  bed  : why  should  we  be  slaves  to  cruel 
masters  ? 

1 18.  “ O my  friend,  arise  and  bear  the 
heavy  burdens  of  poverty,  and  let  me,  over- 
come as  I am  with  weariness,  at  length  enjoy 
the  repose  that  thou  hast  gained  from 
death.”  Thus  did  the  man  who  had  lost 
his  wealth  address  the  corpse  on  its  way  to 
the  graveyard,  but  the  lifeless  body  remained 
silent,  knowing  that  death  is  better  than 
poverty. 

1 19.  The  glory  of  Hara,  who  is  glad 
because  he  is  half  man  and  half  woman,  and 
because  his  adored  spouse  thus  forms  part  of 
his  own  being,  is  seen  in  men  who  are 
devoured  by  passion;  but  the  same  high 
deity,  when  freed  from  union  with  his  wife, 
watches  over  those  who  are  no  longer  subject 
to  the  pangs  of  passion.  The  man  who  is 


128 


(THE1  SATAKAS 


confused  by  the  almost  unbearable  poisoned 
arrows  of  love,  cheated  by  Kama,  can  neither 
enjoy  nor  give  up  the  objects  of  the  senses. 

120.  At  one  moment  women  laugh  and  at 
another  they  weep,  and  in  this  way,  although 
they  are  full  of  insincerity,  they  make  men 
put  their  trust  in  them.  Hence  it  comes 
about  that  the  wise  man  avoids  women  as 
he  would  avoid  a drinking-vessel  used  in  a 
cemetery. 

12 1.  Let  us  pass  our  life  at  Benares  living 
by  the  banks  of  the  divine  river,  clad  only  in 
a single  garment,  and  with  our  hands  uplifted 
over  our  heads.  Then  let  us  cry  in  suppli- 
cation, “ O spouse  of  Gauri,  Tripurahara, 
Sambhu,  Trinayana,  shower  thy  mercies 
upon  us,”  and  in  the  midst  of  our  prayers  we 
should  find  that  days  and  years  would  pass 
by  as  if  they  were  brief  moments  of  time. 

122.  A firm  bosom;  sparkling  eyes;  a 
small  mouth ; curling  hair,  slow  speech,  and 
rounded  hips  are  characteristics  of  a woman 
which  are  always  praised.  But  when  we 
neglect  the  surface  we  find  that  the  internal 
characteristics  corresponding  to  these  are 
hardness  of  heart,  shifty  eyes,  a deceitful 
face,  insincerity  and  cunning.  When  we 


THE  VAIRAGYA  SATAKA  129 

bear  in  mind  both  the  superficial  and  the 
inward  characteristics  of  a woman,  we  must 
declare  that  the  one  who  should  possess  them 
can  be  dear  only  to  the  beasts  of  the  field. 

123.  Sometimes  we  may  listen  to  music 
and  singing ; sometimes  to  weeping  and  wail- 
ing ; now  we  may  give  ear  to  the  utterances 
of  the  sages,  and  again  only  to  the  quarrels 
of  drunken  men  ; there  are  moments  when  we 
may  take  delight  in  all  the  pleasures  that 
the  world  affords,  but,  anon,  we  may  find 
that  our  bodies  are  covered  with  diseased 
sores  : so  is  the  life  of  man  partly  made  up 
of  nectar  and  partly  of  poison. 

124.  You  disguise  your  voice  and  limbs 
like  the  actors  in  a play,  and  then  flatter 
your  wealthy  patrons.  But  what  part  will 
you  play  at  the  time  when  your  hair  is  grey 
with  age  ? 

125.  Fortune,  breath,  wealth  : all  are 
transitory ; righteousness  is  the  only  im- 
movable thing  in  the  world. 

126.  Hara,  whose  brow  is  ornamented  by 
the  crescent  moon  as  by  a tongue  of  flame, 
who  absorbed  like  a moth  the  god  of  love 
that  flew  round  him,  thus  showing  himself 
at  the  zenith  of  his  happiness,  and  who 

1 


130 


THE  SATAKAS 


removes  the  burden  of  darkness  that  takes 
possession  of  the  earth ; Hara,  the  gleaming 
light  in  the  inner  mind  of  the  ascetic — may 
Hara  overcome  his  enemies. 

127.  O mind  of  mine,  pay  no  attention  to 
the  goddess  of  fortune,  for  she  is  as  unstable 
as  a courtesan,  and  as  variable  as  the  smile 
or  the  frown  of  kings.  Nay,  clothe  thyself 
rather  in  ragged  garments,  proceed  to 
Benares,  and  beg  from  door  to  door  the  food 
that  men  will  gladly  place  in  the  receptacle 
you  hold  out  to  them. 

128.  The  tortoise,  whose  back  is  bowed 
down  with  the  weight  of  the  great  world 
which  he  carries  upon  it,  has  indeed  justified 
his  existence,  and  no  less  glorious  was  the 
birth  of  the  polar  star,  for  the  splendid  zone 
of  the  universe  is  fixed  upon  it.  All  other 
things  that  come  into  existence  are  as  if 
dead ; they  fly  about  aimlessly,  and  their 
wings  are  useless  in  doing  good  to  others  : 
they  are  neither  above  like  the  star,  nor 
underneath  like  the  tortoise — they  are  even 
as  petty  insects,  buzzing  about  the  fig-tree 
of  the  world. 

129.  “My  house  is  magnificent,”  says 
the  man  whose  mind  is  darkened  by  igno- 


THE  V AIR  AG  Y A SAT  AKA  131 

ranee;  “my  children  are  respected,  my 
wealth  is  boundless,  my  wife  is  beautiful, 
and  I am  in  the  prime  of  life.”  The  wise 
man,  on  the  other  hand,  knows  that  every- 
thing in  the  prison-house  of  this  world  is  but 
ephemeral,  and  frees  himself  from  all  its 
earthly  possessions. 

130.  Those  who  wish  to  swear  may  do  so ; 
but  we  are  righteous,  and,  as  there  is  no  evil 
in  us,  we  cannot  utter  abusive  words.  We 
cannot  expect  of  a man  more  than  is  in  him, 
nor  can  we  bestow  upon  him  that  which  does 
not  exist.  We  cannot  give  a hare’s  horn  to 
anyone.1 

13 1.  Sustenance  can  be  obtained  in  this 
world  by  easy  enough  means.  The  land  is 
full  of  fruit.  The  skin  of  the  elephant  or 
the  deer  wrould  furnish  us  with  clothing,  and 
the  consequences  of  happiness  or  of  unhappi- 
ness are  identical.  Who,  therefore,  casting 
away  the  true  idea  of  the  deity,  would 
worship  a deity  blinded  by  the  love  of 
money  ? 

132.  Our  minds  are  not  always  set  on  the 
tasks  they  are  carrying  out,  so  that  although 
we  have  killed  elephants  by  our  good  swords, 

1 See  note  to  Niti  Sataka,  aphorism  No.  5. 


132 


THE  SATAKAS 


although  we  have  put  our  enemies  to  the 
torture,  although  we  have  gratified  ourselves 
by  amorous  dalliance  on  the  couch  of  our 
beloved  mistress,  and  although  we  may  live 
near  within  the  thundering  noise  of  the 
Falls  of  the  Himalayas  : yet  we  have  had 
no  pleasure.  Like  the  crows,  we  have  spent 
our  lives  in  greedily  picking  up  the  crumbs 
of  food  thrown  to  us  by  others. 

133.  Cease,  O my  mind,  from  wandering 
hither  and  thither,  and  rest  for  a time ! 
That  which  has  been  decreed  by  fate  cannot 
be  warded  off  : therefore  think  not  of  the 
past,  and  trouble  thyself  not  about  the 
future  : take  delight  only  in  those  pleasures 
which  come  to  thee  and  are  gone  without 
being  sought. 

134.  Let  thy  hand  serve  thee  as  a 
drinking-cup ; eat  in  peace  the  food  thou 
hast  begged  ; repose  thyself  wheresoever  thou 
canst,  and  look  upon  the  whole  world  as 
grass.  Only  a few  men  before  thee  have 
got  rid  of  their  earthly  forms,  and  acquired 
a knowledge  of  the  continuous  happiness  felt 
by  the  ascetic  : a bliss  which  it  is  not  difficult 
to  gain  by  favour  of  Siva. 

135.  O my  mind,  thou  hast  not  released 


THE  VAIRAGYA  SATAKA  133 

Bali  from  Patala ; 1 thou  hast  not  got  rid  of 
death ; thou  hast  not  taken  the  dark  spots 
away  from  the  moon,  and  thou  hast  not 
removed  sickness  from  among  mankind. 
Thou  hast  not  supported  the  universe,  even 
for  a moment,  and  so  relieved  the  weari- 
ness of  Shesha.  O my  mind,  art  thou  not 
ashamed  to  be  honoured  unjustifiably  in  a 
manner  appropriate  only  to  great  heroes  ? 

136.  My  mind  wishes  to  become  united 
with  Siva,  for  in  this  way  all  the  disquietude 
resulting  from  discussions  on  the  meaning 
of  the  different  shastras  is  swept  away,  while 
the  emotions,  calmed  by  the  noble  sentiments 
of  the  poets,  are  brought  under  control,  and 
we  are  freed  from  the  doubts  that  beset  us. 

1 3 7 . Why  do  wretched  men  tolerate  the 
miseries  they  are  forced  to  undergo  by 
waiting  outside  the  doors  of  the  rich  when 
the  fruits  of  the  earth  lie  ready  to  hand,  and 
there  is  no  scarcity  of  trees  in  every  wood ; 
when  the  sweet,  cool  water  of  the  sacred 

1 A virtuous  king  who  became  so  powerful  as  to 
arouse  the  anger  of  the  gods.  Vishnu  begged  from  him 
as  much  ground  as  he  could  cover  in  three  strides;  and, 
on  the  request  being  granted,  he  stepped  over  both 
heaven  and  earth  in  two  strides.  In  view  of  Bali 'a 
virtues,  Vishnu  left  him  the  lower  region  (Patala). 


*34 


THE  SATAKAS 


rivers  is  easy  to  obtain,  and  when  delicate 
plants  form  a soft  couch  on  which  the  body 
may  repose  ? 

138.  I beg  my  food;  the  cow  of  plenty 
gives  me  milk,  and  my  ragged  garments, 
mean  as  they  are,  keep  out  the  cold,  while  I 
worship  Siva  without  pause.  What  do  I 
care  for  worldly  possessions  ? 

139.  All  the  great  ascetics  have  de- 
clared that  the  life  spent  as  a beggar  is 
not  wretched,  for  the  beggar  fears  no  losses ; 
he  is  not  possessed  of  envy,  pride,  or 
haughtiness ; he  is  free  from  the  innumer- 
able troubles  that  beset  mankind,  and  he 
obtains  his  food  from  day  to  day  without 
any  great  difficulty.  The  life  of  a mendicant 
is  a means  of  purification,  approved  of  by  the 
gods.  It  lays  up  treasure  for  us  that  will 
last  for  ever,  and  adds  to  our  devotion  for 
Siva. 

140.  The  beggar  who  rests  his  body  upon 
the  earth,  who  looks  upon  the  sky  as  his 
canopy,  and  the  moon  as  his  lamp,  and  who 
takes  delight  in  the  unity  which  has  been 
brought  about  between  himself  and  divine 
peacefulness,  his  brow  fanned  from  all  quar- 
ters by  the  winds  of  heaven^  is  like  unto  a 


THE  VAIRAGYA  SATAKA  135 

prince,  despite  his  having  freed  himself  from 
all  desire  for  worldly  wealth. 

14 1.  The  pleasures  of  the  world  are  as 
ephemeral  as  the  varying  ripples  of  the 
mighty  river.  Our  life  passes  in  a moment, 
and  our  days  here  are  few.  The  joys  of 
youth  vanish  away,  and  even  the  love  of 
one’s  friends  faileth.  Wherefore  let  the 
wise  man  who  knows  full  well  that  this  world 
is  a vain  thing,  and  whose  mind  clearly 
perceives  the  evil  side  of  earthly  attractions, 
make  every  effort  in  his  power  to  reach  a 
condition  of  indifference. 

142.  Thou  dost  not  look  upon  the  face  of 
the  rich ; thou  dost  not  speak  flattering 
words ; thou  givest  no  heed  to  the  utterances 
of  pride ; thou  dost  not  wander  hither  and 
thither  in  the  hope  of  profiting  thereby  : but 
thou  eatest  in  due  season  the  fresh  blades  Gf 
grass  and  sleepest  peacefully  when  it  is  time 
to  sleep.  Tell  me,  O deer,  what  penance 
thou  hast  practised  that  thou  canst  lead  such 
a life  of  contentment. 

143.  Young  women  flee  from  the  man 
whose  hairs  are  grey  with  age,  and  the  man 
who  is  enfeebled  by  senility.  They  keep  far 
away  from  him,  and  avoid  him  as  they  would 


THE  SATAKAS 


136 

the  well  used  by  the  Chandals  with  the  pieces 
of  bone  suspended  over  it.1 

144.  How  often,  O senseless  man,  do  thy 
plans  come  to  naught ! Filled  as  thou  art 
with  folly,  how  often  hast  thou  not  desired 
to  drink  deep  draughts  of  water  from  the 
mirage  of  this  world  ! Since  thou  art  now  as 
confident  as  ever,  and  since  thy  mind,  though 
it  has  received  many  a shock,  has  not  been 
subdued,  surely  thy  heart  must  be  made  of 
imperishable  marble. 

145.  What  will  not  the  eyes  of  a woman 
accomplish  ! They  will  softly  and  quietly 
make  their  way  into  a man’s  heart  and 
inspire  him  with  infatuation,  with  delirium, 
with  threats,  and  with  felicity.  What, 
indeed,  will  not  the  eyes  of  a woman 
accomplish  ? 

146.  The  powerful  lion  feeding  on  the 
flesh  of  bears  and  elephants  enjoj^s  the 
pleasures  of  love  only  once  in  a twelvemonth, 
but  the  dove,  picking  up  only  morsels  of 
hard  rock,  loves  every  day.  How,  I pray, 
can  this  be  explained  ? 

147.  The  ascetic  who  desires  union  with 

1 The  Chandals  are  pariahs  and  outcasts,  lower  even 
than  the  Sudras. 


THE  VAIRAGYA  SATAKA  .137 

Hara  leads  a life  of  peaceful  calm  with  his 
mind  fixed  only  upon  one  object.  He  lives 
in  some  sacred  forest  with  only  the  deer  as 
his  companions,  supporting  his  life  on  the 
fruits  of  the  earth,  and  on  the  vegetables 
growing  on  the  banks  of  the  stream ; while 
the  flat  surface  of  a rock  serves  him  for  a 
couch.  His  mind  is  fixed  upon  Hara,  and 
the  forest  and  the  dwelling  are  one  and  the 
same  thing  to  him. 

148.  The  goddess  utters  sweet  sounding 
words  that  please  us  more  than  honey  or 
ghee ; the  syllables  that  fall  from  her  lips  fill 
us  with  delight.  Let  us  but  obtain  our  barley 
grain  by  begging,  and  so  long  as  we  can  do 
that,  we  shall  have  no  desire  to  seek  wealth 
in  a state  of  slavery. 


CHAPTER  III 


THE  SRINGA  SATAKA 

1.  Fall  down  and  worship  the  illustrious 
wielder  of  the  flowery  bow,1  who  compelled 
even  the  gods  themselves  to  be  the  servants 
of  antelope-eyed  ladies ; the  youth  whose 
curious  deeds  cannot  be  described  in  words. 

2.  Smiles,  gestures,  modesty,  and  coquet- 
tish glances,  the  face  half-turned  away, 
teasing,  jealousy,  quarrels,  chaff — these  are 
indeed  the  weapons  of  women,  out  of  which 
they  make  a chain  to  bind  down  men. 

3.  Eyes  cast  down,  sidelong  looks,  pretty 
eyebrows,  soft  words,  modest  smiles,  arti- 
ficial movements  and  postures  of  the  body, 
a slow,  indolent  movement  in  walking — 
these  things  serve  women  equally  well  as 
ornaments  and  as  weapons. 

4.  If  once  our  fancy  has  been  caught  by 

1 Cupid. 


THE  SRINGA  SATAKA  139 

women  we  shall  never  cast  a look  round  us 
without  seeing  the  world  filled,  as  it  were, 
with  the  sparkling  glances  of  lotus-eyed 
navodahs  1 — glances  which  strike  us  at  first 
by  the  movements  of  the  beautiful  eyebrows, 
and  then,  perhaps,  by  the  modesty  or  shy- 
ness of  the  fair  one,  or  by  her  timidity 
and  laughing  gracefulness,  or  the  unsteady 
feelings  displayed  in  those  eyes,  those 
fickle  eyes,  whose  magnificence  resembles 
the  dark-blue  lotus  in  full  bloom. 

5.  A face  that  shames  the  splendour  of 
the  moon,  eyes  that  surpass  the  beauty  of 
the  lotus,  a complexion  outshining  even  the 
lustre  of  gold,  thick  hair,  blacker  than 
the  black  bee,  breasts  that  make  us  forget 
the  twin  domes  on  the  forehead  of  an 
elephant,  rounded  hips,  and  a sweet  voice 
— these  are  the  natural  ornaments  of  young 
women. 

6.  What  is  not  handsome  about  young  and 
beautiful  maidens  who  are  just  entering  on 
the  threshold  of  womanhood  ? Their  gently 
smiling  faces,  frank  and  innocent  looks, 
their  harmonious  voices  when  we  speak  to 
them,  and,  when  they  walk,  the  delicate 

1 Young  and  newly  married  women. 


140  THE  SATAKAS 

movements  of  their  limbs,  like  the  trembling 
of  lotus  stems — these  things  are,  one  and 
all,  unsurpassed  in  their  loveliness. 

7.  What  can  be  more  beautiful  for  the 
lover  to  look  at  than  the  face  of  his  antelope- 
eyed mistress  smiling  at  him  with  unchecked 
passion  ? What  can  be  more  lovely  for  him 
to  breathe  than  the  breath  of  her  mouth  ? 
What  more  beautiful  for  him  to  hear  than 
her  voice  ? What  more  beautiful  for  him  to 
eat  than  the  delicate  ambrosia  of  her  lips  ? 
What  can  be  more  lovely  for  him  to  touch 
than  her  soft  hxty,  and  what  more  beautiful 
for  him  to  think  about  than  the  image  and 
grace  of  his  adored  one  ? 

8.  Who  is  there  that  is  not  conquered 
by  the  artless,  timid  glances  of  lovely  and 
youthful  women,  the  melodious  tinkling  of 
whose  loose  anklets  and  waistbelts  puts  to 
shame  even  the  sweet  tones  of  the  swans  ? 1 

9.  The  charms  of  a lovely  woman,  whose 
body  has  been  anointed  with  saffron,  whose 
necklace  swings  gently  with  the  rise  and  fall 
of  her  golden  breasts,  and  from  whose  feet 
we  hear  the  sweet  sounds  of  her  tinkling 
anklets  : by  making  use  of  these  things 

1 A favourite  comparison  in  Sanskrit  poetry. 


THE  SRINGA  SATAKA'  141 


what  handsome  woman  cannot  reduce  a man 
to  a condition  of  the  most  abject  slavery  ? 

10.  All  the  best  poets  were  wrong  when 
they  called  woman  weak.  How  can  such  an 
expression  be  applied  to  those  whose  star- 
like  eyes  subdued  the  hearts  of  Indra  himself, 
and  the  other  mighty  gods  ? 

11.  Makaradhvaja  1 is  truly  the  obedient 
slave  of  the  beautiful  woman  who  possesses 
a pair  of  fine  eyebrows  : for  he  consoles 
himself  in  all  their  labyrinths,  and  is  ready 
at  any  moment  to  take  the  field  in  her 
service. 

12.  Thy  well-combed  hair,  thy  splendid 
eyes,  with  their  arches  curved  almost  to 
thine  ear,  thy  two  rows  of  teeth,  entirety 
pure  and  regular,  thy  breasts  adorned  with 
beautiful  flowers  or  necklaces  of  pearls — 
thus  thy  body,  oh  beautiful  woman,  inspii'es 
us  with  the  liveliest  emotion.2 


1 Cupid ; the  Indian  God  of  Love. 

a In  the  original  the  lady  is  compared  to  “ calm  and 
peaceful  Yogi  ” — this  being  a play  on  the  Sanscrit 
words  which,  when  applied  to  the  ear,  the  teeth,  and 
the  pearls,  have  a complimentary  meaning,  though  they 
bear  a different  interpretation — such  as  “ self-denying,” 
or  “ pious  ” — when  applied  to  the  divine  writings  or  to 
emancipated  souls. 


142 


THE  SATAKAS 


13.  Oh,  thou  most  charming  maiden, 
where  hast  thou  acquired  thy  knowledge  of 
archery  ? — a magnificent  knowledge  indeed ; 
for  thou  canst  pierce  the  hearts  of  others 
merely  by  touching  the  strings  of  the  bow, 
without  using  a single  shaft. 

14.  Noth  withstanding  the  light  from  the 
bright  lamps,  the  fires,  the  sun,  the  moon, 
and  the  stars,  the  whole  world  appears  to 
me  to  be  wrapped  in  the  deepest  gloom, 
because  my  fawn-eyed  darling  is  no  longer 
with  me. 

15.  It  is  but  natural  that  the  voluptuous- 
ness of  thy  rounded  breasts,  thy  trembling 
eyes,  thy  ever-moving  brows,  and  thy  rosy 
lips,  should  arouse  amorous  emotions  in  a 
man ; but  why  is  it  that  that  thin  line  of  hair 
wrhich  we  can  just  see  peeping  forth  ex  ventre 
tuo  should  cause  us  so  much  more  emotional 
discomfort  ? — that  little  line  of  hair  that 
looks  like  a special  mark  of  favour  bestowed 
by  the  God  of  Love  himself. 

16.  The  delicate  form  of  that  beautiful 
woman  resembles  the  constellation  of  the 
stars.  Look  at  her  neck  and  breasts,  her 
face  that  puts  the  moon  to  shame,  and  her 
slow,  dignified  mien. 


THE  SRINGA  SATAKA  143 

17.  If  any  emotion  is  aroused  in  thy  soul 
at  the  sight  of  the  firm  breasts,  the  rounded 
hips,  and  adorable  face  of  that  young  woman, 
and  if  your  desire  is  all  for  the  voluptuous 
sights  on  which  you  have  cast  your  eye,  then 
practise  the  virtues ; for,  without  this  prac- 
tice, the  fulfilment  of  your  hopes  can  never 
come  to  pass. 

18.  There  is  one  question  upon  which  we 

must  make  up  our  minds,  having  set  aside 
all  longing  for  the  time  being  : Shall  we 

devote  ourselves  to  the  nitambas  (mountain 
caves)  or  to  the  nitambas  (sexual  charms)  of 
young  and  beautiful  women  ? 

19.  In  this  worthless  world  learned  men 
have  two  alternative  ways  of  enjoying  them- 
selves : they  may  either  drink  the  ambrosia 
of  knowledge  and  truth,  or  they  may  give 
themselves  up  to  the  society  of  charming 
women  and  of  courtesans,  whose  amorous 
desires  are  awakened  by  the  mere  touch  of 
the  hand. 

20.  That  woman  may  indeed  be  said  to  be 
made  up  of  precious  jewels ; for  her  face  is 
like  the  moonstone,  her  dark  hair  like  sap- 
phires, and  her  hands  like  rubies,  with  their 
red  palms. 


144 


THE  SATAKAS 


21.  What  cannot  clever  women  do  when 
once  they  take  possession  of  the  hearts  of 
men  ? They  can  drive  them  mad,  intoxicate 
or  stupefy  them  with  sympathy  and  love, 
mock  them,  threaten  them,  please  them,  and 
likewise  worry  them  in  a thousand  different 
ways. 

22.  Behold  the  delicate  form  of  that 
charming  woman  who  is  walking  in  the 
cool  moonlight  with  slow  and  cautious  step, 
resting  now  and  then  in  the  shade  of  the 
forest  trees,  and,  with  her  shapely  hand, 
drawing  her  veil  over  her  face  to  shield 
herself  from  the  rays  of  the  moon. 

23.  So  long  as  we  do  not  view  women  too 
closely,  we  wish  merely  to  glance  at  their 
handsome  figures.  When  once  this  wish  is 
gratified,  however,  we  want  to  have  her 
whole  body  in  a loving  embrace.  And 
when  that  boon  has  been  vouchsafed  us, 
we  pray  that  our  bodies  may  be  united  for 
all  eternity. 

24.  Who  can  truly  be  said  to  have  secured 
a portion  of  ethereal  bliss  in  this  wretched 
world  ? Those,  doubtless,  who  wear  frag- 
rant garlands  of  jasmine  round  their  necks, 
rub  the  sweet  saffron  over  their  bodies,  and 


THE  SRINGA  SATAKA  145 

press  close  to  their  hearts  the  adored  form 
of  their  beloved. 

25.  Our  beloved  one  approaches  us  with 
lascivious  movements  and  then  shyly  yields 
to  our  embraces.  But,  her  desire  once  grati- 
fied, she  sets  aside  all  reserve,  becomes  more 
audacious,  and  gladly  gives  herself  up  to  all 
the  delicious  pleasures  of  love. 

26.  What  pleasure  can  be  compared  to 
that  of  drinking  the  nectar  off  the  lips 
of  our  beloved  mistresses  as  they  lie  with 
dishevelled  hair  and  rosy  cheeks,  their 
bodies  palpitating  with  the  delights  of  love  ? 

27.  Qui  nictantibus  oculis  amatorid  e 
pugna  fit  copulationis  liquor,  hoc  insimul 
ut  veram  lascivi  dramatis  catastrophen 
amantium  paria  sane  dignoscunt.  (Literal 
translation  by  H.  Fauche.) 

28.  Impotence  is  an  unworthy  thing  that 
results  in  men,  when  they  have  become  old, 
too  old  for  the  joys  of  love ; but  it  never 
happens  in  the  case  of  well-developed 
women  : even  when,  in  other  respects,  they 
have  become  old  and  enervated,  they  are 
still  ready  for  pleasure. 

29.  The  true  object  of  amorous  intercourse 
is  the  uniting  of  the  hearts  of  the  two 

K 


146 


THE  SATAKAS 


participants  in  it ; and  when  this  end  is  not 
accomplished  the  union  resembles  merely  the 
contact  of  corpses . 

30.  How  well  women  can  charm  men  by 
their  words — words  which  meekness  may 
make  sweet,  or  which  may  be  affectionate,  or 
slowly  uttered  as  the  result  of  the  intensity 
of  the  woman’s  love,  or  agreeable  to  the  ear, 
or  expressive  of  the  utmost  happiness,  or 
graceful,  or  passionate. 

31.  You  must  make  your  choice  of  a 
habitation — either  on  the  banks  of  the 
Ganges,  the  hoty  waters  of  which  will  wash 
away  all  your  sins,  or  on  the  breast  of  a 
beautiful  young  woman  adorned  with  a 
necklace  of  pearls. 

32.  The  anger  of  jealousy  may  rise  in  the 
hearts  of  the  young  women  who  love  us,  but 
it  will  last  only  until  it  is  blown  away  by 
a fresh  breeze  bringing  with  it  the  sweet 
odours  of  the  sandal-wood. 

33.  Who  can  avoid  feeling  the  pleasurable 
excitement  of  passion  in  the  course  of  a 
lovely  spring  evening  when  the  air  has  an 
agreeable  perfume,  the  boughs  of  the  trees 
are  covered  with  fresh  foliage,  and  the  sweet 
notes  of  the  birds  melt  the  hearts  of  the 


THE  SRINGA  SATAKA  147 

ladies — and  when,  too,  the  wistful  sigh 
and  the  gently  moving  breasts  betray  their 
amorous  desires  ? 

34.  When  lovers  are  separated  from  their 
sweethearts  their  feelings  are  made  even 
sadder  by  the  freshness  of  the  spring, 
despite  the  songs  of  the  birds  and  the 
magnificent  breezes  from  the  Malaya.  In 
man’s  misfortunes  even  his  nectar  becomes 
poison  for  him. 

35.  Not  many  people  can  manage  to  de- 
light themselves  in  the  pleasant  nights  of 
Chaitra  1 by  resting  from  the  pleasures  cf 
love  at  the  side  of  their  adored  ones  or 
listening  to  the  sweet  notes  of  the  cuckoos,  by 
reposing  within  a lovely  arbour  of  creepers, 
by  entering  into  converse  with  good  poets, 
or  enjoying  the  cool  rays  of  the  moon. 

36.  The  troubles  of  the  traveller  who  is 
journeying  far  from  home  are  added  to  by 
the  sight  of  the  burning  mango  stalks, 
representing,  as  it  were,  the  burning  flames 
of  the  fire  of  separation  from  his  wife. 
Then,  too,  there  are  the  sad  notes  of  the 
birds  and  the  sweet  breezes  blowing  from  the 
Malaya. 

1 From  about  the  end  of  March  to  the  middle'  of  April. 


148 


THE  SATAKAS 


37.  In  the  springtime,  when  the  scent 
of  perfume  pervades  everything,  and  the 
atmosphere  is  heavy  with  the  swTeet  odours 
of  the  mango  flowers  and  the  bees  intoxicated 
with  drinking  the  juice,  we  feel  an  irresis- 
tible desire  to  seek  the  society  of  those  wre 
love.  Is  there,  indeed,  any  man  who  does 
not  feel  his  heart  moved  by  the  impulses  of 
love  and  passion  ? 

38.  Various  things  all  help  to  strengthen, 
in  the  summer-time,  the  power  of  high 
spirits  and  love — the  hand  of  a beautiful 
woman  dripping  with  the  moisture  of 
sandal- wood,  houses  provided  with  arti- 
ficial fountains  of  water,  flowers,  the  rays 
of  the  moon,  the  mild  and  sweet-smelling 
breezes,  and  the  beautiful  roofs  of  the 
palaces. 

39.  When  the  privileged  few  are  troubled 
by  the  excessive  heat  of  summer  they  have 
remedies  at  hand  — beautiful  bunches  of 
flowers,  fans,  the  rays  of  the  moon,  pollen 
dust,  charming  lakes,  sandal-powder,  pure 
sidhou,1  light  clothing,  fine  palaces,  and 
loving  women  with  voluptuous  eyes. 

1 Sidhou  : Wilson  defines  this  as  “ rum  distilled  from 
molasses.” 


THE  SRINGA  SATAKA  149 

40.  A well-cleaned  house,  the  spotless 

rays  of  the  moon,  the  lotus-like  faces  of 
our  adored  ones,  sweet-smelling  sandal- wood 
dust,  and  beautiful  flowers  : all  these 

things  excite  the  hearts  of  the  passionate, 
but  they  have  no  effect  on  the  wise  man 
who  has  turned  his  head  away  from  the 
pleasures  of  love. 

41.  Who  is  not  delighted  by  the  rainy 
season — those  months  of  autumn  that  rouse 
the  passions  of  men,  almost  as  much  as  a 
youthful  woman,  by  the  jati  flowers  which 
it  brings  to  their  full  growth,  and  the 
clouds,  thick  with  rain,  like  a full-breasted 
woman . 

42.  The  feelings  of  everyone,  whether 
happy  or  unhappy,  are  sure  to  be  influ- 
enced and  made  somewhat  melancholy  by 
the  sight  of  the  cloudy  autumn  sky,  the 
sprouting  fields,  and  the  fragrant  breeze, 
heavy  with  the  sweet  odours  of  the  kutaja  1 
and  the  kadambs 2 and  the  peacocks  that 
make  the  forest  ring  with  their  shrill  cries. 

43.  When  the  traveller  looks  up  and 
finds  that  the  rain-clouds  cover  his  head 

1 Nauclea  orientalis. 

3 Echites  antidysenterica  (Fauche). 


THE  SATAKAS 


150 

like  a canopy,  that  the  amorous  peacocks 
dance  on  the  sides  of  the  mountains,  and 
that  the  soil  under  his  feet  is  beginning  to 
be  covered  with  budding  flowers  and  roots, 
how  can  he  refrain  from  uttering  a sigh  of 
melancholy  pleasure? 

44.  Consider  the  case  of  beautiful  and 
passionate  women  when  they  are  separated 
from  their  husbands  in  the  autumn  : how 
lonely  their  days  will  be  ! and  how  will  it  be 
possible  for  them  to  walk  abroad  and  see 
here  the  brilliant  flashes  of  lightning  in 
the  sky,  and  there  the  peacocks,  with  their 
passionate  cries,  while  sweet  breezes  blow 
about  them  and  they  feel  the  strong  scent 
of  the  flowers? — when,  in  short,  everything 
about  them  stimulates  amorous  passion  ? 

45.  In  the  dark  nights  of  Nabhas  or 
Shravana,1  when  the  rain  and  the  hail 
fall  to  the  earth  with  a hideous  noise, 
when  the  roads  are  flooded  and  the  skies 
are  continually  illuminated  with  flashes  of 
lightning  : then  women  will  be  filled  with 
miseries  and  fears  and  wrill  long  for  the 
return  of  their  loved  ones. 

46.  For  happy  husbands  a rainy  day  is  a 

1 About  July. 


THE  SRINGA  SATAKA  15 1 


time  of  pleasure  and  delight,  for,  not  being 
able  to  go  out  on  account  of  the  wet,  they 
gladly  return  to  their  wives,  who,  trembling 
with  cold,  take  them  into  their  embraces. 

47.  He  who  is  tired  of  the  pleasures  of 
love  after  part  of  the  night  has  elapsed, 
and,  his  throat  parched  with  unquenched 
thirst,  sits  on  the  lovely  roof  of  a palace  and 
yet  refrains  from  the  delight  of  drinking 
the  clear  autumnal  water  held  to  his  lips  in 
a pitcher  by  the  hands  of  his  beautiful 
sweetheart — she  whose  strength  has  also 
failed  as  the  result  of  the  pleasures  of  love 
— is  without  doubt  a very  unfortunate 
being. 

48.  Those  persons  are  indeed  fortunate 
who,  in  the  depths  of  winter,  can  afford  to 
have  plenty  of  milk  and  ghee  on  their 
tables,  wear  thick  garments,  enjoy  the 
luxury  of  anointing  their  bodies  with 
saffroti,  tire  themselves  with  a variety  of 
sensual  enjoyments,  sleep  in  the  embraces 
of  beautiful  women,  and  repose  at  the'_  ease 
within  their  dwellings,  chewing  a leaf  of 
piper-betel  mixed  with  various  spices. 

49.  Kissing  the  rosy  cheeks  of  women, 
causing  a feeling  of  cold  on  their  faces  over 


152 


THE  SATAKAS 


which  the  luxuriant  hair  is  blown  hither 
and  thither,  moving  even  their  breasts  and 
blowing  aside  the  clothing  from  their  legs 
and  bodies — clearly  in  doing  all  these 
things  the  winds  of  winter  are  playing  the 
part  of  paramours  with  beautiful  women  in 
the  broad  light  of  day. 

50.  The  winter  wind  tosses  women’s  hair 
from  side  to  side,  makes  them  close  their 
eyes,  blows  their  garments  hither  and 
thither,  thrills  their  bodies,  embraces  them, 
makes  them  utter  low  sounds  of  fear  and 
delight,  and  kisses  their  lips ; and  in  doing 
all  this  it  acts  with  all  the  charm  of  a lover. 

51.  No  doubt  sensual  pleasures  lead  to 
no  good  result,  and  prevent  us  from 
properly  renouncing  the  world.  People 
may  think  and  speak  thus,  but  there  is 
nevertheless  something  powerful  and,  in- 
deed, indefinable,  in  sensuality ; something 
that  can  even  agitate  the  souls  of  those  who 
have  turned  away  from  the  world  to  devote 
themselves  to  meditation  and  the  search  for 
truth. 

52.  You,  for  your  part,  have  found 
consolation  in  studying  the  divine  Vedic 
writings,  while  we,  on  the  other  hand,  are 


THE  SRINGA  SATAKA  153 

the  disciples  of  poets  whose  words  are  always 
pleasing.  You  will  therefore  hold  that 
there  is  nothing  better  on  this  earth  than 
doing  good  to  others,  while  we  shall  main- 
tain that  there  is  nothing  better  than 
lotus-eyed,  beautiful  women. 

53.  Of  what  use  are  vain  words  and 
useless  discourses  ? There  are  only  two 
things  in  this  world  to  which  man  should 
give  himself  ,up.  One  is  the  youthful 
period  of  a beautiful  woman,  who  is  tired, 
so  to  speak,  of  carrying  the  weight  of  her 
lovely  breasts  and  wishes  for  a new  source 
of  enjoyment,  and  the  other  is  a forest 
where  one  can  live  as  a hermit. 

54.  Listen,  oh  man,  for  I am  saying 
what  is  true,  and  am  not  speaking  frivo- 
lously. It  is  admitted  and  certain  that 
nothing  enchants  the  soul  so  much  as 
young  women.  They  alone  are  the  cause 
of  evil ; and  there  is  no  other. 

55.  The  lamp  of  wisdom  and  judgment 
in  the  hearts  of  man  burns  only  so  long  as 
it  is  not  extinguished  by  the  brilliant  glances 
from  the  eyes  of  beautiful  women.1 

56.  Those  learned  men  who  interpret 

1 That  is,  women  annihilate  all  discretion  in  man. 


154 


THE  SATAKAS 


the  Vedas  by  preaching  that  we  should 
renounce  the  world  do  not,  after  all,  preach 
this  doctrine  to  us  but  with  their  tongue ; 
for  who  can  give  up  altogether  the  pleasure 
to  be  found  in  the  societ}^  of  a beautiful 
woman,  ornamented  with  a waistbelt  of 
precious  stones  ? 

57.  That  learned  man  who  shuns  the 
company  of  beautiful  women  is  deceiving 
himself  as  well  as  deceiving  others ; for  is  it 
not  the  case  that  the  enjoyment  of  apsaras  1 
is  one  of  the  most  prominent  rewards  of 
Heaven  ? 

58.  There  are  many  men  on  this  earth 
who  can  cleave  in  the  brow  of  a mad 
elephant,  and  there  are  others  who  do  not 
hesitate  to  go  out  and  slay  a lion ; but  who 
among  the  bravest  can  I point  to  as  having 
broken  the  onslaught  of  the  God  of  Love? 
Men  of  this  last  type  are  undoubtedly 
few. 

59.  A man  may  walk  in  the  right  path, 
retain  control  over  himself,  and  behave  with 
perfect  propriety  until  at  last  he  finds 
himself  in  the  company  of  sparkling-eyed 
women  who  shoot  arrows  of  love  into  his 

1 The  Indian  equivalent  of  Moslem  houris. 


THE  SRINGA  SATAKA  155 

heart  from  the  bows  formed  of  their  beautiful 
eyebrows. 

60.  When  women,  inspired  by  the  pas- 
sions of  love  set  about  some  task,  even 
Brahma  himself  is  afraid  to  place  an 
obstacle  in  their  way. 

61.  A man  will  preserve  his  greatness, 
wisdom,  nobility,  and  learning  until  the 
God  of  Love  causes  his  frame  to  tingle  with 
the  arrows  of  desire. 

62.  There  are  many  profound  students 
of  the  shastras,  men  'who  are  famous  for 
their  morality  and,  indeed,  for  the  knowl- 
edge they  possess  of  their  souls ; but  of 
the  large  number  only  a relatively  small 
number  can  expect  to  reach  eternal  happi- 
ness ; for  the  key  of  the  arched  brows  of 
beautiful  women  opens  a way  for  them 
leading  to  the  gates  of  hell. 

63.  Identical  with  aphorism  No.  18  of  the 
Vairagya  Sataka. 

64.  Foolish  men  have  broken  the  divine 
seal  of  women.  They  have  thrown  it  aside 
carelessly  and  now  seek,  but  in  vain,  a 
substitute  for  this  seal,  which  gives  birth  to 
love  and  brings  everything  to  perfecting. 
But  they  have  met  with  condign  punish- 


THE  SATAKAS 


156 

ment  at  the  hands  of  Cupid  himself.  He 
has  condemned  some  of  them  to  walk  to 
and  fro  in  a naked  condition  and  with 
their  heads  shaved,  while  others,  with 
matted  beards,  beg  their  bread  from  door 
to  door,  carrying  in  their  hand  a human 
skull. 

65.  Even  Visvamitra,  Parashara,  and 
innumerable  other  ascetics  who  had  sub- 
sisted on  little  else  than  the  winds  of 
Heaven,  dead  leaves  and  water,  were  thrown 
into  confusion  at  the  mere  sight  of  a woman 
as  beautiful  as  the  lotus;  and  how,  then, 
is  it  possible  for  men  living  on  luxuries 
such  as  rice,  ghee,  milk,  and  so  forth,  to 
control  their  senses  ? It  would  be  as  diffi- 
cult for  them  to  do  so  as  it  would  be  for 
Mount  Vindhya  to  swim  over  the  sea. 

66.  Had  there  been  no  young  women 
with  eyes  as  beautiful  as  the  lotus  and  faces 
outshining  the  beauty  of  the  moon,  whose 
waistbelts  gave  forth  such  joyful  sounds 
and  who  were  almost  bent  by  the  develop- 
ment of  their  breasts,  how  would  it  have 
been  possible  for  men  to  have  cast  aside 
their  natural  wisdom  and  inclinations  and 
entered  the  service  of  some  cowardly  king, 


THE  SRINGA  SAT  AKA  157 

passing  their  time  near  the  gates  of  the 
palace  ? 1 

67.  If  there  had  been  no  beautiful  women 
in  the  world,  no  wise  man  would  have 
stained  his  head  by  devotional  bows,  par- 
ticularly when  he  could  have  spent  his  time 
in  some  saintly  cavern  on  the  side  of  the 
Himalayas,  whose  rocks  are  washed  by  the 
waters  of  the  Gange^  _md  whose  trees  have 
their  roots  in  the  shoulders  of  the  Nandi, 
the  divine  Ox  of  Siva. 

68.  It  would  have  been  an  easy  matter 
to  pay  for  our  passage  over  the  ocean  of 
existence  if  there  had  been  no  women  with 
beautiful  eyes  to  hinder  our  progress. 

69.  No  one  in  this  world,  O king,  has 
ever  succeeded  in  crossing  his  ocean  of 
desires.  Of  what  use  to  us  are  abundant 
riches  if  we  must  let  our  youth  slip  away 
from  us  without  the  enjoyment  of  our  wives 
whom  we  adore  ? Eet  us  therefore  hasten 
to  our  homes  so  that  we  may  be  able  to 
reach  them  before  the  beauty  of  our  loved 
ones  has  been  withered  by  the  approach  of 
age. 

1 That  is,  most  men  enter  such  service  as  this  simply 
for  the  sake  of  their  wives  and  children. 


THE  SATAKAS 


158 

70.  What  greater  calamity  can  a man 
suffer  in  this  world  than  his  own  youth, 
which  is  at  once  the  abiding-place  of  passion, 
the  cause  of  dreadful  agonies  in  hell,  the  seed 
of  ignorance,  the  gatherings  of  clouds  that 
hide  the  moon  of  knowledge,  the  great 
friend  of  the  God  of  Love,  and  the  chain 
that  binds  together  innumerable  sins. 

71.  Fortunate  indeed  is  the  person  who 
can  retain  the  mastery  of  his  senses  at  the 
critical  period  of  his  youth — youth,  this 
waterer  of  the  tree  of  love,  the  rapid-flowing 
stream  of  sexual  enjoyment,  the  dear  friend 
of  the  God  of  Love,  the  full  moon  of  the 
chakor-like  eyes  of  women,  and  the  treasury 
of  happiness  and  wealth. 

72.  “ Beautiful  woman.  What  a divine 
expression  ! What  a magnificent  form  ! ” 
cries  the  man  who.  is  blinded  by  passion  ; or, 
perhaps,  “What  a breast!  What  eye- 
brows ! ” In  this  way  the  sight  of  a 
beautiful  woman  delights  him.  He  feels 
intoxicated  with  an  excessive  joy,  and  yet 
he  may  know  very  well  that  she  is  a woman 
whose  impurity  is  known  to  the  whole 
world . 

73.  How  can  we  go  on  loving 


women 


THE  SRINGA  SAT  AKA  159 


when  the  thought  of  her  warms  our  hearts, 
the  sight  of  her  intoxicates  us,  and  a touch 
of  her  nearly  drives  us  mad  ? 

74.  A woman  is  indeed  the  very  incarna- 
tion of  the  purest  ambrosia  so  long  as  we 
have  her  within  sight ; but  no  sooner  is  she 
beyond  the  range  of  our  vision  than  she 
becomes  worse  even  than  poison.1 

75.  Whatever  young  woman  we  may 
have  in  mind  she  is  neither  ambrosia  nor 
poison — if  she  loves  us  she  will  be  like 
an  ambrosial  creeper  embracing  us  with  its 
tendrils ; but  if  she  is  indifferent  she  is  like 
a poisonous  plant. 

76.  A whirlpool  of  uncertainty,  a palace 
of  pride,  a prison  of  punishment,  a store- 
house of  sin,  a fraud  in  a hundred  different 
respects,  an  obstacle  placed  for  us  before 
the  gates  of  paradise,  the  field  of  deceit,  a 
basket  of  illusion,  the  open  throat  of  hell  : 
such  are  some  of  the  features  of  women, 
who  change  nectar  into  poison  and  are  as 
a chain  by  which  man  is  attached  to  the 
chariot  of  folly, 

77.  It  is  certain  enough  that  the  face  of  a 

1 The  company  of  our  wives  is  delightful,  and 
separation  from  them  is  as  bad  as  poison. 


160  THE  SATAKAS 

woman  is  not  made  up  of  the  moon,  that 
her  eyes  are  not  twin  lotuses,  and  that 
her  limbs  are  not  really  gold.  Why,  alas, 
have  poets  been  led  to  deceive  us  in  this 
manner?  Men  are  capable  of  distinguish- 
ing ; but  nevertheless,  deceived  by  the 
poets,  they  none  the  less  adore  those  fawn- 
eyed women,  even  though  they  know  well 
enough  that  their  bodies  are  composed  of 
nothing  more  than  skin,  flesh,  and  bone. 

78.  Redness  is  a natural  feature  of  the 
lotus ; but  the  bees  mistake  it  for  a sign  of 
its  love  for  them,  so  they  continually  hover 
around  the  flower.  Similarly,  though  flir- 
tations and  amorous  actions  are  natural  to 
women,  they  yet  make  deep  impressions  on 
the  hearts  of  foolish  men,  who  mistake  these 
things  for  real  tokens  of  love. 

79.  We  behold  a young  girl  with  a lotus- 
eyed face  resembling  the  splendour  of  the 
moon,  and  we  remark  the  ambrosia  on  her 
lips.  Too  soon  this  face,  like  a rotten  piece 
of  fruit,  will  lose  all  its  flavour,  and  will 
begin  to  taste  like  bitter  poison. 

80.  A 3'oung  woman  is  like  a river;  for 
the  lines  of  her  body  resemble  the  waves; 
her  breasts  represent  the  ducks  swimming 


THE  SRINGA  SATAKA’  161 


on  the  surface,  the  nymphs  are  seen  in  the 
brilliant  colours  of  her  face  : but  the  bed  of 
the  river  is  dangerous,  its  course  is  difficult 
to  perceive  and  leads  rapidly  to  the  ocean ; 
so  let  men  turn  aside  from  it  if  they  do  not 
wish  to  be  drowned. 

81.  Women,  being  all  of  a flighty  dis- 
position, look  at  this  man  and  talk  to  that 
man  at  one  time — and  think  of  yet  a third 
person  : Who  can  possibly  be  a lover  of 
women  ? 

82.  Women’s  words  may  be  like  honey, 
while  their  hearts  may  be  filled  with  poison. 
What  more  natural,  then,  than  we  should 
clasp  their  breasts  tightly  while  kissing 
their  lips  ? 

83 . Oh  my  friend  ! Carefully  avoid  that 
form  of  serpent  whom  we  know  as  woman. 
She  wears  the  hood  of  amorous  glances  and 
actions  while  the  looks  she  darts  from  her 
eyes  are  like  stings  of  poison.  Those  who 
are  bitten  by  ordinary  snakes  may  be  cured 
by  medicines ; but  those  who  are  wounded 
by  the  serpents  in  the  form  of  woman 
cannot  be  cured  even  by  the  most  famous 
charmers. 

84.  Cupid,  in  the  guise  of  a fisherman, 

L 


i62  the  satakas 

has  spread  his  net  in  the  form  of  a woman ; 
and  the  bait  he  offers  is  the  nectar  from 
her  lips.  Soon  men  are  tempted  by  the 
attraction  that  is  put  before  them  and,  when 
they  are  caught,  they  are  roasted  in  the  fire 
of  love. 

85.  Never,  oh  my  heart,  venture  into 
the  dense  forest  of  a pretty  woman’s  body. 
The  way  through  it  is  rendered  difficult  by 
the  high  mountains  of  her  breasts,  and  the 
God  of  Love  hovers  round  like  a brigand. 

86.  Woe  is  me ! for  I must  one  day 
be  pierced  by  the  large,  swift,  voluptuous 
eye  of  a woman,  which  follows  one  like  a 
quickly-moving  serpent,  and  finally  strikes. 
In  nearly  every  country  there  are  charmers 
who  can  cure  a snake  bite ; but,  alas  ! for 
the  man  whose  heart  is  pierced  by  the  ej^e 
of  a woman  there  is  neither  medicine  nor 
doctor. 

87.  In  one  place  we  hear  a melodious 
song,  in  another  we  see  a well-executed 
dance  or  inhale  a beautiful  perfume ; while 
again,  somewhere  else,  wre  are  intoxicated  by 
touching  a beautiful  breast.  In  this  way  our 
senses  ramble  hither  and  thither  and  destroy 
the  higher  ideas  of  our  minds — all  of  them 


THE  SRINGA  SATAKA  163 


workmen  carrying  out  useless  tasks  and  all 
of  them  continually  abused  and  deceived. 

88.  The  disease  of  love  cannot  be  healed 
by  mantras  or  the  customary  medicines. 
The  study  of  the  divine  texts  is  of  little 
avail ; and  whenever  the  patient  is  attacked 
his  eyes  roll  with  pain,  and  his  limbs  assume 
a peculiar  livid  hue. 

89.  What  wise  man  can  possibly  take 
delight  in  loving  a prostitute — a woman 
who,  for  the  mere  hope  of  gaining  a small 
sum  of  money,  sells  her  lovely  person  even 
to  a blind  man,  or  a man  who  is  indescrib- 
ably ugly  and  worn  out  with  age,  or  a man 
of  low  origin,  or  again  a man  who  repels  us 
by  his  leprosy.  What  man,  I ask,  can  love 
a prostitute — this  scythe  who  cuts  down  the 
divine  shrub  of  wisdom,  the  roots  of  which 
are  planted  in  paradise  itself  ? 

90.  A prostitute  is,  so  to  speak,  a fire  of 
love,  glowing  from  the  fuel  of  beauty,  and 
burning  to  ashes  the  youth  and  wealth  of 
sensual  persons. 

91.  However  beautiful  the  lips  of  a pros- 
titute may  be,  no  man  who  respects  himself 
can  possibly  kiss  them — for  what  are  they 
but  a kind  of  vessel  in  which  everyone  is  at 


THE  SATAKAS 


164 

liberty  to  spit,  be  he  spy,  soldier,  thief, 
slave,  actor,  or  cheat? 

92.  Happy  indeed  are  those  men  whose 
hearts  are  not  inflamed  by  the  sight  of 
beautiful  women  with  large  eyes,  firm 
breasts,  and  all  the  characteristics  of  youth 
about  their  delicate  bodies. 

93.  My  child,  why  dart  coquettish  glances 
from  thy  half-closed  eyes  ? Cease  ! Cease  ! 
for  thy  labour  is  in  vain.  We  have  become 
different  men ; our  youth  is  at  an  end.  The 
world,  so  far  as  we  are  concerned,  is  in  the 
middle  of  a forest.  Folly  is  dead  in  our 
hearts,  and  this  world,  through  which  one’s 
desires  are  inflamed,  is  to  us  nothing  but  a 
handful  of  grass. 

94.  That  charming  young  woman  con- 
tinually casts  sparkling  glances  towards  us ; 
but  what  object  can  she  have  in  doing  so? 
Our  desires  have  long  since  left  us,  and  love, 
the  tireless  hunter,  has  put  away  his  arrows 
which  pierce  our  bodies  with  the  pangs  of 
pain.  Yet  that  woman  will  not  cease.  [ Cf . 
Vadragya  Sataka,  aphorisms  Nos.  66  and 
67.] 

95.  Magnificent  palaces,  passionate  young 
women,  wealth,  and  power — a man  can  enjoy 


THE  SRINGA  SATAKA  165 

these  things  in  recompense  for  virtuous 
actions,  but  only  for  so  long  as  the  merits 
of  such  actions  entitle  him  to  do ; and 
then,  when  the  term  has  expired,  everything 
collapses  and  vanishes  into  ruin  like  a rope 
of  pearls  suddenly  broken  in  the  course  of 
an  amorous  dispute. 

96.  Love,  who,  although  invisible,  attacks 
everybody,  continually  hovers  round  the 
victorious  ascetic  in  whose  soul  all  evils 
have  been  conquered  by  meditation  and  the 
practice  of  Yoga.  In  view  of  this,  what  use 
can  he  make  of  the  society  of  agreeable 
women,  the  charming  honey  of  their  lips, 
the  odour  of  their  sighs,  and  their  voluptuous 
kisses  ? 

97.  Why,  O love,  should  you  tire  your- 
self ? of  what  avail  now  your  bow  and  arrow, 
or  your  words  uttered  in  your  most  melodious 
tones  ? Away  from  me,  young  fool,  away 
with  your  side-glances  so  piercing,  sweet, 
loving,  and  delicate ! My  thoughts  are 
directed  now  only  towards  God;  the  only 
ambrosia  which  I absorb  is  that  which  comes 
to  me  when  I meditate  at  the  feet  of  Siva  ! 

98.  When  I was  ignorant  and  walking  in 
darkness  it  appeared  to  me  that  the  whole 


i66 


THE  SATAKAS 


world  was  nothing  but  the  body  of  a woman ; 
but  now  that  I have  become  more  clear- 
sighted, I recognise  that  the  three  worlds 
are  comprised  in  Brahma  himself.1 

99.  One  man  walks  in  the  path  of  absolute 
renunciation,  while  another  follows  the  way 
of  moral  obligations,  and  a third  devotes 
himself  to  love. 

100.  It  is  thus  in  this  world  that  the  differ- 
ences in  the  characters  of  men  enable  us  to 
distinguish  between  them ; and  if  the  third 
does  not  possess  what,  in  love,  is  essentially 
beautiful,  the  wishes  of  the  second  tend 
towards  the  beautiful.  The  soul  of  the  first 
has  not  yet  reached  this  stainless  state; 
nevertheless  his  desires  have  gained  posses- 
sion of  the  lotus. 

1 C/.  Niti  Sataka,  aphorism  No.  8. 


THE  NORTHUMBERLAND  PRESS,  THORNTON  STREET,  NEWCASTLB-UPON-TVNB 


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DATE  DUE 

DEMCO  38-297 

